Cost of farm land expected to rise by 6% this year
Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) auctioneers and valuers say the outlook for the agricultural land market remains strong for 2025 and are forecasting that the price of agricultural land nationally will increase by 6% on average this year.
In a major new report with Teagasc, auctioneer and valuer members of SCSI operating in the agricultural sales and rental market, say average rental prices in 2025 are expected to increase by 7%.
In Munster, average rental prices are expected to rise by 8% while in Leinster and Connacht/Ulster an increase of 7% is forecast.
SCSI auctioneers and valuers say they expect land values to rise again primarily due to better milk prices, strong competition among farmers and investors and recent changes to Ireland's Nitrates Action Programme.
Due to the latter, some farmers require more land to meet lower stocking rate thresholds, which further increases the demand, especially among dairy farmers in Ireland.
The average price of non-residential agricultural land in 2024 was €9,900/ac, which is an increase of 7%, up from €9,297 in 2023.
According to the 'Agricultural Land Market Review and Outlook Report 2025', the Central Statistics Office (CSO) data shows that the share of agricultural land, which transacts for sale annually is only around 0.5% of agricultural area.
This, combined with strong demand for agricultural land is driving the increase in land prices.
Land rental prices
In Munster, there was a mixed trend in year-on-year land rental prices. Average rental prices for grazing and meadowing/silage declined from between 3% and 5% and now stand between €284/ac and €294/ac.
On the other hand, land rental prices for other crops such as maize and beans rose by 8% on average, indicating a steady demand for animal feed crop growing.
By contrast Connacht/Ulster saw the highest provincial rental price inflation across grazing/silage and grazing-only lands, 14% and 13% respectively, with the average price of the former reaching €208/ac and the latter reaching €177/ac.
In Leinster (excluding Dublin), land rental prices for grazing/meadowing/silage, grazing only and potato growing all increased by 9% on average to €295/ac, €271/ac and €467/ac respectively.
The rental price of land for cereal crops increased by 8% to €317/ac while rent for land rental prices for other crops such as maize and beans, increased by just 2% to €351/ac.
The survey of 169 auctioneers and valuers from all over the country, took place in February and March 2025.
It found the volume of farmland going to market increased marginally during 2024 with probate sales continuing to provide the main source of farmland sales.
National and regional land sales prices
This year's annual survey, the 12th in the series, provides a county-by-county breakdown of the prices of good and poor-quality land.
The survey found that in 2024 Waterford had the most expensive land in the country with good quality land on holdings between 50ac and 100ac fetching an average sales price of €23,500/ac.
Mayo had the lowest land sales prices in the country at €3,075/ac of poor-quality land on holdings over 100/ac.
After Waterford, which also had the most expensive land on holdings under 50ac at €23,000/ac, comes Kildare at €18,680, with Cork in third place at €17,875, just marginally ahead of Tipperary on €17,865.
In Carlow, the average price of good quality land on holdings of less than 50ac is €17,417/ac, while rounding off the top six places is Meath on €16,890.
In Munster, sales prices for good quality land on holdings under 50ac range from €23,000 in Waterford to €9,875 in Clare. Prices for poor quality land ranged from an average of €8,750 in Waterford to €6,100 in Kerry.
In Leinster, sales prices for good land in 2024 on holdings of less than 50ac ranged from Kildare's high of €18,680 – up from €16,400 the previous year – to €12,042 in Offaly, while the prices for poor-quality land range from a high of €10,200 in Kildare to €6,500 in Longford.
In Connacht/Ulster, sales prices for good land on holdings under 50ac ranged from an average of €13,280/ac in Donegal – down slightly on last year – to €7,625 in Leitrim.
Prices for poor quality land ranged from an average of €6,500 in Cavan to €3,792/ac in Leitrim, the lowest price in the country for holdings under 50ac.
Land market outlook 2025
Chair of the SCSI's Rural Agency Committee and discipline lead of Real Estate and Valuations at TU Dublin, Dr. Frank Harrington said land prices are being driven by a continued low supply of land to the market and demand across major sectors for agricultural outputs including a thriving dairy sector.
'Dairy farms are projected to have a robust 2025 and will continue to significantly influence the demand for both owned and leased land,' he stated.
'Over three quarter of respondents to our survey (77%) ranked dairy farmers as the main buyer type of agricultural land.
'In addition, 62% of respondents expect an increase in demand from dairy farmers in 2025, with just 2% of respondents expecting this demand from dairy farmers to decrease.
'But there are also several other factors which are supporting the positive outlook. After a poor start, last year's weather improved, and as a result crop yields performed better than expected.
'We have also seen a marked reduction in interest rates, which of course means lower finance costs,' Dr. Harrington added.
The SCSI committee chair added that uncertainty in the global economy, along with recently imposed US tariffs on EU agricultural products are casting a long shadow.
'While it's impossible to predict the outcome and potential impact, it's clear these factors could introduce volatility into the land market and may temper some of the upward price momentum,' he explained.
Dr. Harrington said one noticeable trend survey respondents picked up on is a significant landowner shift towards long-term leasing over short-term rentals.
'As the market continues to evolve, we believe long-term leasing will remain the preferred model, supported by government policies that encourage security of tenure and investment in land productivity,' he said.
'As a result, nearly 84% of survey respondents noted that farmers would typically pay more per acre for similar quality land on a long-term lease compared to conacre.'
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