Co Armagh has the most expensive agricultural land across the 32 counties of Ireland, and land prices in NI are also significantly ahead of the market in Britain, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.

The information has been compiled in our annual survey which tracked land sales across Ireland in 2017, and shows that the average land price in Co Armagh jumped by 19% last year to £13,341/acre.

Using 2017’s average euro-sterling exchange rate of €1=£0.88, Armagh’s average land price is £1,003/acre higher than the second most expensive county in Ireland, Kildare, which had an average land price last year of £12,338/acre (€14,020/acre).

The survey was conducted as part of 2017 Agricultural Land Price Report and showed that average land prices (excluding hill land and rough grazing) across NI decreased slightly, by 0.7% last year, to £9,750/acre. The steady market for land in NI last year shows that uncertainty surrounding Brexit did not affect sentiment among land buyers.

Although land prices in the Republic of Ireland increased by 3.6% in 2017 to £7,997/acre (€9,088/acre), NI prices remain well ahead, with average prices £1,753/acre higher north of the Irish border.

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