Ireland was one of the most expensive EU countries to rent land in for 2021, new figures show.
Eurostat figures show that Ireland had a national average of €353/ha, the fifth highest in Europe, for arable land and/or permanent grassland.
The highest regional price paid for renting Irish land recorded by Eurostat was €437/ha.
The most expensive rental land was in the Netherlands with an average of €836/ha in 2021.
On average, the next most expensive land was in Denmark (€547/ha) followed by Greece (€459/ha), while the lowest land rental prices on average were in Slovakia (€62/ha), Croatia (€74/ha) and Malta and Latvia, (both €83/ha).
Where EU countries reported specific rental prices, renting permanent grassland was always cheaper than renting arable land.
The cheapest rental price for permanent grassland was found in Slovakia (€39/ha) while the most expensive was in Ireland (€337/ha).
Rental prices for arable land between the two countries varied between €79 and €466.
Within regions, the most expensive area was in Flevoland, the Netherlands, at €1 721/ha, followed by Canarias in Spain at €1,119/ha and Attiki in Greece at €927/ha.
Recently, the Farming Independent reported record prices being paid for renting agricultural land in Ireland.
A recent REA survey shows that most of the land leased in 2022 was in the €200-300/ac bracket. Some prices paid were €100-150 but those in the €300-400/ac region were more common.
Fifty per cent of the grassland with entitlements leased in the country in 2022 made €300- 400/ac while only 25pc of the grassland without entitlements made that price.
When it came to tillage, cereal ground with entitlements was also more likely to command a higher rental price.
Regular grazing land can be got for €150-200/ac and good grazing ground will cost €200-250/ac, the Farming Independent reported.
The leasing market has “taken fire” in recent months, according to auctioneers around the country who say "there is far more custom and money for rental land than there is land".
Dairy farmers are trying to rent land "in order to stand still rather than expand," says Matthew Conry of Dawsons, Carlow.
"Dairy farmers taking tillage land to grow maize. They are killing two birds with the one stone — supplying some of their own feed while using the extra land to alleviate the nitrates burden," he says.
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