Hundreds of thousands of tons of wheat is changing hands for up to 10 per ton below the trade price in the low eighties. With an average yield in the North of just over 3 tons of substandard wheat a reduction off the wheat for low quality is bringing a return of just over 200 an acre. Add to this a lower EEC subsidy and you have a return of well under half of that in the last 4 years. Is there any wonder that the pips are beginning to squeak. For a few years, farmers with large overdrafts have had temporary relief from bank pressure, but the tide has turned and banks are beginning to investigate their agricultural portfolios.
Auctioneers are out around the Country tut tutting at the price of farmland.
By working gently to enable and assist farmers in difficulty they will reduce the damage to the overall industry by not causing a massive abundance of land to appear on the market. There is a clear division in the finance of British agriculture those with no money borrowed and those with far too much. With falling land prices, those with no money borrowed and money in the bank await a perceived bottom in the market and those with too much borrowed lie awake praying for a miracle. If there is little pressure over the Country to sell then those with the money will invest and some problems recede. It is obviously a time for the overborrowed to judiciously reduce the size of their holdings.