Shropshire Star

No let-up in demand to rent out farm land

In the United Kingdom we have approximately 17 million hectares of farm land (42 million acres) of which nearly 70 per cent is owner occupied, leaving 30 per cent tenanted, writes Mike Taylor.

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You could be forgiven for thinking that the best way to acquire more land to farm would be to raid the piggy bank and buy some. However, whilst about 7.5 per cent of the UK housing stock changes hands each year, less than one per cent of UK farmland area is sold each year equating to roughly 120,000 hectares (295,000 acres) thereby considerably reducing the opportunity to buy appropriate land.

Thirty years ago the figure for farm land sales was nearer to 2.5 per cent, but with a lot less available to rent. So what has changed? It is probably fair to say that there is much more reluctance to sell in today's environment largely due to the alternatives that weren't available 30 years ago when most farmers approaching retirement didn't really want to sell but felt they had no option.

The introduction of Farm Business Tenancies in 1995 and the popularisation of Contract Farming arrangements offer much more flexibility, and possible tax advantages, to the ageing or reluctant farmer.

What it often does mean though is increasingly land is being farmed from a distance and we see more and more farm machinery on the road between scattered parcels of land. There is also much more specialisation with potato and other veg growers seeking fresh ground further and further afield.

The result is there is actually rather more than 30 per cent of UK farmland rented in one form or other, as much more is available on short-term arrangements for specialist cropping and short-term grazing lets.

So if you want to expand your farming enterprise, renting or contract farming is certainly an increasingly popular way forward.

Despite great pressure on farming incomes over the past two years, we have seen no let-up in demand for land to rent in the West Midlands and Marches.

A recent tender we handled for a reasonable-sized block of mixed arable and pasture land in Staffordshire created lots of interest but with land for sale at between £7,000 and £14,000 per acre and little of it on the market, perhaps this is hardly surprising. Just recently uncertainty over the outcome of Brexit has meant that many farmers are preferring either short-term arrangements or agreements with some flexibility.

* Mike Taylor is senior partner of Barbers Rural, Market Drayton.

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