Farm land prices beginning to ease in Shropshire
The crisis in the dairy industry has led to the price of farm land in Shropshire finally beginning to ease after years of rocketing values.
Demand for land showed its first signs of tailing off since 2008 in the first six months of this year, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said as it published its latest Rural Land Market Survey.
The easing of the West Midlands market was "very modest", however, and prices are continuing to rise, albeit at a slower rate.
Since the turn of the year an acre of land in the West Midlands has increased in price from £8,250 to £9,000, whereas nationally it has finally dropped, from £10,067 to £9,692.
Part of the easing is a result of sheep and dairy farmers being cautious with their cash as a result of the rock bottom prices being paid for milk and lamb.
Charles Cowap, principal lecturer at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, said: "Prices are still going up as there's still more demand than supply, but it has become more particular.
"Demand is still strong for arable land, particularly where it's of good quality and I think you can see that dairy farmers are not in a money spending mood at all."
