13.5-acre arable field smashes guide price and sells for £220,000

Strong demand for small blocks of arable land was highlighted as a 13.5-acre field smashed its guide price when selling for £220,000 at an auction.

The Shropshire land attracted competitive bidding by a number of local farmers at the auction held by auctioneer Halls.

The land, at Northwood Lane, Chorley, Bridgnorth, achieved £16,248 per acre, and it had a guide price of £150,000.

The productive Grade 3 land sold for £220,000, with Halls calling the auction 'very competitive'.

Planted with a maize crop last year, the field was previously in cereal rotation.

It currently has a mustard cover strip planted to the south of the field to prevent run off from the maize stubble.

Director of Halls, Sarah Hulland said the farmland market was currently 'buoyant'.

“A lot of local farmers were keen to buy this land which resulted in very competitive bidding.

“Fields and small blocks of arable land are selling well because they tend to be affordable to more farmers but are quite rare on the open market."

She added: “When a field like the one at Northwood Lane becomes available, there is serious competition from prospective buyers.

"If farmers have similar land which exceeds their needs, then it’s a good time to consider selling.”