Almost 25% of farmland sold in 2018 was bought by business people, the Irish Farmers Journal Agricultural Land Price Report 2018 can reveal.

Almost 7,800ac were bought by business people in 2018, out of a total of 31,687ac. This amounted to 17% of individual land sales.

Business people, those with significant income outside of farming, are paying the highest prices for land across Ireland. They paid an average of €12,022/ac last year.

Dairy and beef farmers

Dairy farmers paid an average of €9,730/ac for land in 2018, almost €1,650/ac more than beef farmers.

Beef farmers paid just under €8,100/ac for land last year, highlighting the disparity in spending power between the two sectors. Tillage farmers paid €11,585/ac on average.

The average price of land in Ireland was €9,072/ac, virtually unchanged from the 2017 figure of €9,088/ac, while the supply of land offered to the market was 70,246 acres, down 11%.