There has been a steady supply of agricultural land offered up for sale in NI during the first half of 2023.

Records kept by the Irish Farmers Journal show that 6,504 acres were publicly advertised for sale in NI over the first six months of the year. The figure is just 44 acres less than the total area offered up during the same period last year.

However, the supply of land for sale varies across counties. Fermanagh has seen the biggest change, with 672 acres put on the market so far in 2023, representing a 37% drop year-on-year. In Tyrone, the area for sale is down 17% and stands at 1,308 acres. The total acreage for sale in Antrim is up 22% year-on- year to 1,727 acres.

Further afield

Similarly, Derry is up 19%, with 1,019 acres coming on the market during 2023, to date.

There has been a 10% rise in the amount of land offered up in both Armagh and Down, with total areas for sale standing at 573 acres and 1,205 acres, respectively. Overall, 225 parcels of NI farmland were put on the market in the first half of the year, which makes the average property 29 acres in size. The outlined figures cover agricultural land that can be described as arable grade, or can be cut for silage/is good-quality grazing. A separate set of records for hill land and rough grazing show that 667 acres have been put on the market in NI so far this year, representing a 25% drop on the same period in 2022.