Donegal has the most expensive land in Connacht / Ulster

Donegal tops the league, when it comes to the most expensive land in Connacht and the three southern counties of Ulster, while the price of agricultural land nationally will increase by 8% on average this year.

According to Bundoran based Chartered Valuation Surveyor Cormac Meehan, of Sean Meehan & Co, this strong demand for good quality land from dairy farmers is driving the market. 

In a major new survey, auctioneer, and valuer members of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI), operating in the agricultural and rental markets say they expect national rental prices to increase at an even higher rate - an average of 14%.

Prices for poor quality land ranged from an average of €5,375 in Galway to €3,300, in Leitrim, the cheapest in Connacht / Ulster on holdings under 50 acres. 

The average price for an acre of poor land on this holding size in Donegal is €3,786.  

However, the land with the lowest value in the country is poor quality land in Mayo where the average price across all holdings is €2,866 per acre. 

In Connacht / Ulster, average prices for good land on holdings under 50 acres range from a €12,143 per acre in Donegal – down from €13,375 in 2021 but still the highest in the region - to €6,140 in Leitrim, up from €5,025 in the last survey. 

Mayo had the second highest on €10,092 while Roscommon was third on €9,938.

The SCSI say prices will be driven by the constrained supply of land for rental and higher anticipated demand, particularly from the dairy sector due to new environmental regulations. 

According to the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland / Teagasc Agricultural Land Market Review and Outlook Report 2023, the Central Statistics Office data shows that the share of agricultural land, which transacts for sale annually is only around 0.5% and this is one of the main reasons for the strong agricultural land letting market which exists here. 

In Connacht / Ulster, land for grazing, meadowing and silage increased by 5% to €176 per acre and for grazing only by 1% to €162. 

Cormac Meehan, of Sean Meehan & Co in Bundoran says strong demand for good quality land from dairy farmers is driving the market. 

“Eighty-three per-cent of agents in our survey believe there is likely to be an increase in demand from dairy farmers to purchase farmland in 2023 and they are continually ranked throughout the survey as being the most likely purchasers of land across the country. However, as outlined in this report it’s also likely that changes to the European Nitrates Directive, particularly measures aimed at protecting water quality will have an impact on land prices, especially rental prices.” 

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“In order to maintain current levels of milk production – and to comply with the directive - many dairy farms will need to either increase their land area or reduce milk production. We’d expect the impact on sales and rental prices will be more acute in regions where dairy is the dominant farm enterprise and where stocking rates are higher.”  

“Provincially, rental values are expected to increase the most in Munster – 17%, followed by Leinster on 15% and Connacht/Ulster on 10%. Approximately 88% of agents expect the volume of farmland available for lease this year will either remain the same or increase, up from 62% last year and this is positive for the market given the constrained land supply situation,” Mr Meehan said.