The price paid for farm land continues to rise despite the uncertainty in farming because of the forthcoming CAP reforms from January 1st.
The latest report from the Central Statistics Office shows that the average price paid for agricultural land in the April-June period this year rose by almost 14 per cent on the same period last year.
The preliminary figures issued by the CSO indicated that the average price paid for agricultural land in the period was €16,749 per hectare, or €6,778 per acre.
This, said the report, was 13.9 per cent above the same period in 2003 and 11.5 per cent over the first quarter of 2004.
The figure being paid for agricultural land from January to March this year was €6,080 per acre, indicating that, in the first two quarters of the year, land increased in price by almost €700 per acre.
The average land transaction size was 8.1 hectares in the second quarter. This was a decrease over the first quarter of around 10 per cent of land parcels sold.
The figures, which are preliminary, showed that the average price paid for agricultural land last year was €5,861 per acre.
Taking the first two quarters of the current year, the average price per acre works out at €6,429, and sources in the industry say this trend will continue for the remaining six months of the year.
While very small quantities of agricultural land are sold on the open market each year, farming press reports show that prices are on the way up and in some cases far exceed those recorded by the CSO.
A total of €14,616 per acre was paid last week for a 92-acre farm at Ballinacarrow, Co Sligo, by a specialist beef farmer.
In Danesfort, Co Kilkenny, a 25-acre farm close to Kilkenny city made €16,705 per acre, while a 40-acre farm at Dolla, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, made only €3,473 per acre last week.
Weekly sales of land show major regional variations, and these are reflected in the statistics.
The official figures show that agricultural land is most expensive in Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, followed by the south-eastern counties.
The cheapest land prices are in Cos Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.
The number of transactions is higher in the west than anywhere else in the country, and last year 191 sales were recorded there, more than 50 more than in the mid-west.