Property consultants report 28% rise in price of farmland

The price of farmland in Ireland increased by 28% last year, according to the property consultants firm Ganly Walters.

The firm said the average price of an acre of land last year was €9,747, compared to €7,593 in 2002.

Ganly Walters said a decrease in the total area of farmland that went on the market last year was one of the factors contributing to the increase.

It said this decrease in available land was sparked by the reform of the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy, which will link subsidies to the size of a farm rather than the farm’s level of production.