A cap on rented land has been called for by PJ O’Keeffe, the FBD Young Farmer of the Year 2017. “The price of land has just gone crazy,” O’Keeffe told a crowd of over 100 young farmers at a Macra na Feirme event in Kilkenny on 23 July.
“When I started out in 2005, €150/ac was a good price for land, you wouldn’t get anything for that today.”
Dairy farmer O’Keeffe suggested that a mechanism could be worked out to calculate land prices based on soil fertility.
“If we can cap our land prices, so we have index ones and twos and develop some kind of mechanism that can calculate this out.”
Listen to "Young Farmer of the Year calls for rent cap" on Spreaker.
The average price for rented land is €211/ac this year, according to Irish Farmers Journal research.
O’Keeffe’s comments caused a string of debate during the panel discussion, with Minister of State for Food, Foresty and Horticulture Andrew Doyle, saying he didn’t believe you could control market prices.
The minister acknowledged that the current system whereby a landowner could rent land and still receive entitlements was not satisfactory, but more emphasis could be put on farm partnerships or rent incentives for young, trained farmers.
Read more
Cost of leasing land soars
Labour and limitations main focus at IGA summer tour
A cap on rented land has been called for by PJ O’Keeffe, the FBD Young Farmer of the Year 2017. “The price of land has just gone crazy,” O’Keeffe told a crowd of over 100 young farmers at a Macra na Feirme event in Kilkenny on 23 July.
“When I started out in 2005, €150/ac was a good price for land, you wouldn’t get anything for that today.”
Dairy farmer O’Keeffe suggested that a mechanism could be worked out to calculate land prices based on soil fertility.
“If we can cap our land prices, so we have index ones and twos and develop some kind of mechanism that can calculate this out.”
Listen to "Young Farmer of the Year calls for rent cap" on Spreaker.
The average price for rented land is €211/ac this year, according to Irish Farmers Journal research.
O’Keeffe’s comments caused a string of debate during the panel discussion, with Minister of State for Food, Foresty and Horticulture Andrew Doyle, saying he didn’t believe you could control market prices.
The minister acknowledged that the current system whereby a landowner could rent land and still receive entitlements was not satisfactory, but more emphasis could be put on farm partnerships or rent incentives for young, trained farmers.
Read more
Cost of leasing land soars
Labour and limitations main focus at IGA summer tour
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