‘There’s another law stronger than the common law,” said Bull McCabe.

“What’s that?” replied Father Doran.

“The law of the land.”

This famous quote from John B Keane’s The Field comes to mind every March with the arrival of the Land Report.

The importance and value of agricultural land to the farmers who own it, to those selling it, to every agricultural auctioneer in the country cannot be underestimated. So, back in the Celtic Tiger when land prices escalated strongly, reaching eye-watering levels – especially along the eastern seaboard – there was a lot of frustration as it became impossible to gauge its actual value.

Last year, as part of the Irish Farmers Journal 75th anniversary celebrations, Andy Doyle wrote a fascinating piece about how the property boom incentivised the then-property editor Shirely Busteed to start surveying and documenting prices to reflect the true average price of land. Shirley’s innovation and her now legacy is this substantial piece of research, the shelf life of which is far longer than a weekly paper. It is the reference document that sits in nearly every auctioneer’s office in the country, it is used by accountants to guide selling prices and has even been cited by solicitors to provide a historic valuation for land in court cases. And for you, our reader, well is there anything more satisfying than finding out what that nearby farm could have fetched under the gavel?

This year, our research shows that average prices have plateaued but behind the headlines, there is more to the story

The legacy of the Land Report is down to the meticulous methodology established by both Shirley and Andy, and now carried on by our property editor, Paul Mooney. Of course, over the last 17 years, technology has moved on substantially and we have used that to our advantage in gathering data, now delivered digitally from auctioneers. While this certainly helps in terms of efficiency, there is nothing like a good old-fashioned chat to reflect the true story behind the prices. So thank you to all the auctioneers who sent an email or took a call. Without this information, there would be no Land Report.

Land Report 2023.

Bad weather and low profits

This year, our research shows that average prices have plateaued but behind the headlines, there is more to the story. Some county prices spiked while others fell sharply, widening the gap between the cheapest and dearest counties. There was also less land sold, dropping from 32,823ac in 2022 to 28,260ac last year. Bad weather and low profits form part of the back story, as does lack of confidence in the market. The impact of the nitrates derogation is also there with 12% of the farms being sold to dairy farmers. While this number is down on other years (likely due to the drop in milk prices), dairy farmers certainly targeted the bigger parcels and holdings, and focused on the better-quality land.

Property is also the focus in week two of our Q&A series on the Vacant Property Renovation Grant. While this is a nationwide scheme, the grant is particularly of interest to those living in rural Ireland, allowing people to look at that derelict farmhouse with fresh perspective. Interest from our readers is evident in the volume of questions we received through our call out in the paper and via social media last week. Tommy Moyles has the full rundown giving clarity on extensions; whether the house must be in your name – it does; and how you can apply to do up two dwellings.

It’s a topic that we will continue to cover and we want to follow a reader through the process from application stage, to the build and then the grand reveal.

If you would like to bring Irish Country Living on the journey with you, please email icl@farmersjournal.ie