By Anna Burdett Farming and rural affairs editor

Last updated at 05:14, Friday, 07 November 2008

CUMBRIAN farmland prices have doubled in five years according to county land agents.

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But many are advising farmers not to put land or farms on the market until January because of a slowdown caused by the credit crunch.

Robin Steel, of C&D Property Services in Longtown, has watched land prices in north Cumbria rise from an average £2,000 an acre in 2003 to £4,500 an acre this year.

But he says the gains have peaked and in some cases gone into reverse: “We’re deferring any big farm sales until next January. These last six weeks, we’ve seen evidence of bigger commercial farms dropping in price by 10 per cent.

“It’s down to a lack of confidence, people can’t get the bank borrowing they need. By next spring I’m sure it will even out again but it does not make sense to put things on the market at this point in time.”

At Mitchells Land Agency in Cockermouth, the average price of land sold has risen 70 per cent from £2,134 per acre in 2003 to £3,620 this year.

Good quality land saw the biggest increase according to John Rockliffe, head of the land agency.

He said: “It could be that land is at its peak. The good land will still keep its price but it might become more difficult to sell the poorer land.

“If you look at the price of land now and what you can earn from it, it does not stack up.”

He says a lack of interest from Irish farmers is partly to blame for land in the west of the county being cheaper.

According to the annual Bank of Scotland Agricultural Land Price Index, the value of a Scottish farm now exceeds £1 million, at £1,154,615.

Prices rose 134 per cent in five years, now averaging £4,262 per acre, 40 per cent more than Britain’s average.

PFK Land Agency in Penrith has seen some of the highest prices this year in Cumbria. In 2003, its bare-land average (land without buildings) was £2,500 which climbed to about £5,000 this year.

Agent Katie Milbourn said: “Prices have got to the point now where it is going to level out.

“Farming profitability doesn’t seem to have any impact on land prices. The main problem at the moment is the ability to borrow.

“There are less purchasers and it’s more expensive to borrow. We’ve not seen any impact on prices yet but I think we will do.

“I can’t see farmers wanting to put anything on the market now.”

First published at 05:14, Friday, 31 October 2008
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk