Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Farmers losing out to forestry investors, say land agents

Forestry investors are outbidding farmers, claims Strutt and Parker.
Forestry investors are outbidding farmers, claims Strutt and Parker.

Land agents Strutt & Parker have confirmed it is now “almost impossible” for farmers to compete with investors for hill land which has commercial forestry potential.

In a review of 2019’s Scottish farmland market the company reveals that in some cases plantable hill ground attracted prices in line with secondary arable farms and grass leys to reach a high of close to £3,000/acre, a rise from the already inflated figure of £2,000/acre in 2018.

The company’s farm agent, Diane Fleming, said forestry investors consistently outmatched the bidding power of farmers and the agricultural value of hill ground unsuitable for tree planting still sits between £300 and £1,000 per acre, depending on location. The boom in forestry interest is related to government planting grants and the value of commercial forestry plantations.

John Clegg & Co’s latest Forest Market Report showed a 23% year-on-year rise in average forestry values.

Meanwhile Strutt & Parker reported demand for prime arable farmland in 2019 far outstripped supply in Scotland, with the best arable land reaching a high of £16,000/acre in one example – on a par with equivalent English farms.

Ms Fleming said: “The restricted availability of arable land for sale helped to reinforce arable values.

“Yet the prices paid for more marginal land, livestock farms and dairy farms declined slightly on a per acre basis, due to supply exceeding demand in some areas and a lack of confidence from buyers in the market.”

Strutt & Parker said the main reasons farmers marketed their farms was retirement, and a third chose to sell due to the absence of successors interested in taking on the farm.