The impact of Brexit on UK farmland has resulted in the average price per acre dropping back to below £8,000/acre.
English farmland has seen a steep fall in its value in the run up to the EU referendum, due to investors’ fears about the possible loss of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments following Brexit.
Farmland price indexes have fallen 3% in the three months to March, ending a run of significant returns on farmland. Values are still high but the average price per acre of English farmland has now dropped back below £8,000.
Average values of farmland have increased by nearly 180% in the last 10 years, but the current political and commodity price uncertainty has suppressed land values and the quantity of land available on the market.
Farmers Weekly, which monitors the acreage of land advertised for sale, noted a 24% fall in the amount of land advertised for sale in the three months to March.
British producers currently receive annually €3.1 billion in direct support from the CAP, without which many producers fear they may go out of business given the current low price of commodities.