As the submission deadline for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) draws to a close this Friday, many agents around the country report that this spring was one of the strongest conacre and leasing seasons over the last few years.

The market kicked off early in February and March, with anything fresh to the market commanding strong interest. With farmers keen to secure long-term leases, many landowners availed of the attractive tax incentives, resulting in a notable increase in the number of long-term lease agreements made this year.

It became clear early in the season that access to land for the Young Farmers Scheme had begun to fuel the market initially and prices started to increase. However, as the details of this scheme unfolded and it emerged that a young farmer could only use “naked land” to qualify for the scheme, the heat went out of the market into April and May. It’s believed that, in some areas, prices actually fell from the heights of February and March and returned to more normal levels.

While the higher prices of €250-€300/acre plus were more common this spring, they weren’t widespread across the entire country.

One Roscommon-based agent said that in the main, anything fresh to the market made in the region of €200/acre – up 20% to 30% on previous years depending on quality, fencing and handling facilities.

While dairy farmers were extremely active in some regions of the country, they weren’t the key drivers in other parts. Quality was a key driver in Roscommon and a number of farmers made the decision to switch from the traditional 11-month contract to a five-year lease, in a bid to allow better planning going forward. The price of rollover lettings (year-on-year) in the area were up by about 10%.

The trend was similar in Co Meath, with fresh parcels making around €200/acre, while choice lots commanded slightly more.

Rollovers increased by €5 to €10/acre, but the majority of landowners were satisfied with the current arrangements.

In progressive dairying and tillage areas, we began to hear about €300/acre and more being paid.

In west Cork, one agent reported that more fresh land was brought to the market this year, the majority of which went into long-term leases. Prices in the region of €250-€300/acre were not uncommon in the area, driven mostly by dairy producers and young farmers. Rollovers, on the other hand, were up by 10% to 15%.

Once the tenant farmer was paying up and looking after the land, the majority of landowners were happy to get a modest increase or maintain the status quo, he said.

In Carlow, prices ranged from €235 to €340/acre for new lettings. In many cases, grassland made more than tillage ground as livestock farmers battled to compete with a competitive tillage sector.

However, it was interesting to learn that not all new parcels were commanding €300/acre – some fresh parcels were let for €200/acre.

One Carlow-based agent explained that some landowners were more eager to get a good tenant than an exorbitant price. He added that as more land becomes tied up in long-term lease agreements, one of the challenges in the county is the scarcity of supply. Rollover lettings remained the same or were slightly up on last year.

This was the first spring that the landowner had to pay the 5% conacre fee (plus 23% VAT) to the agent. Up to July last year, the fee was paid by the tenant farmer who was taking the land.