Prime grassland values grew by 9.2% over 2023, down from the 10.6% growth recorded over 2022.
That’s according to the Agricultural Land Price Barometer published by Sherry Fitzgerald.
As of December 2023, the weighted average price of an acre of prime grassland stood at €13,290, up from €12,170 at the end of 2022.
All regions experienced price growth over the year, with the most significant of this being in the midlands, where prices grew by 19.3%.
Notably this represents the highest increase in prime grassland values for any calendar year since the series began in 2011.
The west (+11.6%), mid-east (+11.5%) and south-west (+9.7) regions also stood out in terms of growth.
Grassland price growth
Like all farmland, prime grassland price growth moderated in the latter half of the year, down to 2.7% from 6.4% for the preceding six-month period.
While the announcement of changes to nitrates regulations would have inflated demand during the first half of the year, milk prices steadily fell by 27.5% over the year, which has been partly to blame for relatively dampened performance in the latter half of the year as dairy farmer incomes dropped.
As of the end of 2023, the most valuable region for prime grassland in Ireland was the mid-east, where the price of an acre is €15,188.
The most inexpensive region continues to be the west, where an acre of prime grassland is valued at €9,600.
Marginal grassland values also recorded high levels of growth, increasing by 9.4% over 2023, and bringing the weighted average price of an acre nationally to €8,034.
The border (+27.1%) and west (+19%) regions experienced exceptional growth, although these two regions continue to see the lowest price per acre for marginal grassland at €6,833 and €5,000 respectively, according to the report.
In contrast, the mid-east region saw values rise by a marginal (0.8%) but remains the most expensive region in terms of price per acre at €9,891.
Sherry Fitzgerald has said that the impressive performance of marginal grassland during 2023 was likely helped by farmers being less likely to discriminate between marginal and prime grassland as they pursued to increase their acreage to meet nitrates regulations.
Another significant contributor to demand for marginal grassland has been the introduction of the new Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CIS-YF).
Quarterly, marginal land prices across the country grew by 2.1% during the final three months of the year, following a fall in values of 1% in Q3.
Most regions remained relatively flat, however notable growth was seen in the Midlands (+6.2%), mid-west (+3.3%) and mid-east (+2.8%).
Arable land values
Arable land values grew by 11.1% over 2023 according to the latest Agricultural Land Barometer from property agent, Sherry Fitzgerald. This is down from the 12.4% recorded over the previous year.
Similar to the other land types, much of this growth was concentrated in the first half of the year with values rising by 7.4%, compared to more moderate growth of 3.4% in the final six-month period.
The weighted average price of an acre of prime arable land now stood at €14,461 at the end of 2023, up from €13,014 the previous year.
Arable land across the country
The midlands was the region which experienced the most substantial growth over the year, with values rising by 20%, according to the outlook report.
Impressive growth was also seen in the west (+13.6%), south-west (+13.2%), border (10.6%) and mid-east (+10.3%).
The south-west region continues to be the most valuable region for prime arable land, where an acre costs €16,166, according to Sherry Fitzgerald.
The most inexpensive region for arable land is the west region, with an acre being valued at €10,000.
During quarter four of 2023, the mid-west region saw the most significant growth of 3.4%.
Aside from this, growth was mostly flat, with only the south-west (+2.1%) and mid-east (+2%) regions experiencing a rise in values.