The latest agricultural rents data once again shows a mixed picture. Following a rise in the overall average rent in 2020, the All Farms rent in 2021 has come back down to 2019 levels. Some sectors have experienced a rise in ‘full’ Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) rents whilst at the same time seeing a fall in FBT rents; for other sectors it is vice versa. The table below shows a summary of the last three years. Defra’s Farm Rents publication uses data from the Farm Business Survey. Due to the time taken to collect the data, it is somewhat historic. The figures just published are for the 2021/22 year, March to February, (shown as ‘2021’ in the table below). The full statistical notice can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-rents/farm-rents-england-2020
Cereals farms on AHA Tenancies recorded an 8% decline (although this is following a 10% increase in 2020) whilst FBT Cereal rents declined marginally. Although only a small decrease this year, this is the third year in a row that Cereal FBT rents have fallen; they do however, remain 24% higher than AHA rents. Full AHA rents for General Cropping have seen a further decline in 2021 and after a ‘sizable’ increase in the 2020 FBT rent, these agreements have also seen a rental reduction in 2021; although not quite back to 2019 levels. Rents for Dairy land are strong, particularly FBT rents but have remained fairly stable over the last three years. LFA Grazing rents show a steady increase for both AHA and FBT agreements and this is the same for Lowland AHA Grazing farms. FBT Lowland Grazing rents continue to fluctuate, falling by 19% in 2021 following a 30% increase in 2020. The livestock sector has seen better prices recently, but is also, in the main, more dependent on the BPS and as this declines, will see margins squeezed.
As written previously, data on rents can fluctuate annually and one year’s information should not really be taken in isolation. In general, rents have been on an upward trend, but looking to the future it would be expected that, as the BPS is phased-out, then overall rents will fall.