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What is land worth in your area? Details of sales completed between January and the end of June this year and agents’ opinions are included in the latest edition of Farmland Market. It also takes a look at what’s happening in land markets across eastern Europe, Argentina and the US.

The county by county listings of individual farm, land and woodland sales are the most comprehensive available. Farmland Market is published twice a year, in spring and autumn, by Farmers Weekly, in association with RICS.

An annual subscription costs £95 (£65 for RICS members). Contact Subscriptions Manager, Farmland Market, Reed Business Information, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 3DH, tel 01444 445566.

Bare land prices in England rose by almost 7% to in the year to the end of June, to an all time high of £6,156/acre according to Knight Frank’s head of rural property research Andrew Shirley.

The figures are based on known sales plus valuations and also show that there was a rise of 2.8% in the second quarter. Mr Shirley tentatively suggests that things may be levelling out now. 

“Demand has increased by 10% over the past 12 months but supply is increasing too.” More than half (55%) of purchasers were farmers, 24% were lifestyle buyers and 17% institutions.

Rising land prices mean that landowners who get divorced could face a hefty payout and be forced into significant debt, one law firm has warned.

Claire Lawson at Manchester-based Pannone said a double-digit rise in the price of commercial farmland in some parts of the UK last year had prompted fears that it could form a greater percentage of assets being fought over by divorcing couples, especially as other items had dropped in value.

“We have had a number of farmers and their spouses approaching us for advice in recent months. Some have explicitly mentioned the increase in land prices and wondered what effect it may have on a settlement and their business.”

Because money is often tied up in the land and farming business, farmers may have to borrow heavily in order to fund any large divorce settlement, she said.

Looks like anyone planning to buy some farmland will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets this year.

Knight Frank says English values rose 3% in the first three months of 2011 to a record high of £5991/acre. That’s 11% higher than a year ago.

Exact figures probably need to be taken with a pinch of salt as they are only based on land sold by one agent in what has been a pretty quiet year so far, but the upward trend is true enough.

With improved prices in many sectors, especially arable, demand from farming buyers and investors looking for a “safe haven” is strong, yet supply remains limited. An interest rate rise could see more land coming onto the market, but there is little sign of that just yet.

Yesterday (Thursday) I had the pleasure of attending one of the Andersons spring seminars at Salisbury racecourse on Opportunities in a Changing Agriculture.

Surprisingly it was the first of these annual events I'd been to - and sadly one of the last that well-known agricultural consultant and analyst Francis Mordaunt would be giving before his impending retirement.

Explaining complicated issues in simple and engaging terms is a gift, and one that Francis has in abundance.

In just 30 minutes he gave a crash course on the current state of British agriculture, encompassing most of the external factors affecting it, giving an assessment of the health of the industry and providing some useful pointers as to where we might be heading.

The key points were as follows:

* UK farming has weathered the recession better than most sectors. Total Income From Farming (TIFF) in 2008 and 2009 came to over £4bn each year - well up on the £2-3bn seen in the previous eight years.

* At this level, TIFF was finally in excess of direct payments, showing that farming is making a small profit even without subsidy...

This week's announcement that the country's two major fertiliser suppliers Yara and Terra are to merge is hardly a major surprise.

Since Yara took over Kemira in 2007 and became a joint venture partner with Terra in GrowHow, many in the industry have considered it just a matter of time before the companies cemented their relationship.

Yara has always been seen as "acquisitive" and eager to grow its 7% share of the world market to something in double figures - and this takes it another, significant step on the way.

It is understood that the planned merger with Terra will give it 9% global market share.

More importantly, it will also give the combined group a 30% stake in the US market and this is where Yara sees the greatest opportunity for growth and profit.

But what will it all mean for British farmers....

Normally I don't allow advertising on this blog. Several foreign exchange dealers and grain merchants have tried to slip in a plug in recent weeks. All have failed!

But I am prepared to make an exception just this once and include a few words about the latest edition of Farmland Market.

OK, it's produced by Farmers Weekly, so I'm not entirely impartial. But the latest edition is a bit special, marking the 35th anniversary of publication. What's more, it's been subject to a complete redesign, under the capable direction of my colleague Ian Ashbridge.

I have to admit, the magazine - which comes out twice a year and is something of "an industry bible" for those involved in the land sector - has not been top of my weekend reading list over the years. (Bike magazine and Trout Fisherman usually take precedence.)

But the new Farmland Market really does deserve a look, containing a variety of new content and a host of valuable statistics, along with a much smarter design.

The editorial includes a detailed look at the land market in 2008, what drove arable prices to £7000/acre and what caused them to ease off later in the year. There is detailed regional breakdown and analysis, a focus on forestry and an overview on the current state of agriculture.

To prove that the editorial team is on-the-ball...