Where in the world is it the most expensive to farm?

[Jackov Altraids]

It is probably difficult to compare when there are so many different variables such as;

Cost to buy/ rent land
Energy costs
Necessary infrastructure
Help in the form of subsidies, tax breaks and central support
Constraints such as regulations, restrictions and other requirements
Availability of anything
Costs to market

I rather suspect that England would be pretty high on a global list?

 

[Jackov Altraids]

For starters;

 

[kiwi pom]

Would say it's probably fairly expensive here depending on what you want to farm.

 

[Pistonbroke]

20 Years ago I was old Japan was the most expensive to farm but no figures to back that up

 

[Bald Rick]

20 Years ago I was old Japan was the most expensive to farm but no figures to back that up

Japan for me too.
Certainly the most subsidised farming ... and an ageing population

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Japan for me too.
Certainly the most subsidised farming ... and an ageing population

So may not be the most expensive if the most subsidised?
I'm thinking of net cost to farm and am now wondering if all factors are considered, due to global commodity trading, that location might not make that much difference?

But then there are still some places that are a lot cheaper / easier to start up than others?

 

[delilah]

We've 70 million largely wealthy customers right on our doorstep, good soil and a Goldilocks climate, if it's too expensive to farm here then there's something wrong.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

We've 70 million largely wealthy customers right on our doorstep, good soil and a Goldilocks climate, if it's too expensive to farm here then there's something wrong.

Surely it would be the kind of fundamental fact that should have been established by someone going to a 'food crisis' summit?
This government have certainly increased the cost to farm considerably while actively trying to curtail returns.

 

[Henarar]

It is probably difficult to compare when there are so many different variables such as;

Cost to buy/ rent land
Energy costs
Necessary infrastructure
Help in the form of subsidies, tax breaks and central support
Constraints such as regulations, restrictions and other requirements
Availability of anything
Costs to market

I rather suspect that England would be pretty high on a global list?

Maybe better to ask where farmers make it expencive to farm, even here you could farm for nothing.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Maybe better to ask where farmers make it expencive to farm, even here you could farm for nothing.

You can certainly make it unnecessarily expensive but nobody can farm for nothing if you include what it costs to become established.

 

[Yale]

Will be interesting to see if carbon credit systems skew things in the near future. Potentially all land could become more expensive.

 

[Henarar]

You can certainly make it unnecessarily expensive but nobody can farm for nothing if you include what it costs to become established.

Handfull of ewes and a tup.

 

[bluebell]

Places like switzerland, norway, and a few others, heavily subsidise their farmers, for 2 main reasons, one, if they didnt most if not all "commercial" farms would end, driven by the fact of world, market prices, the cost of land, and the "hardness" of farming in those countries, two, those countries are proud of their "heritage", traditions, customs, and want to preserve the farming landscape its "farmers" who farm that land etc, something us lot in the UK should "learn" from, ( im talking about, hill farming), small family farms, which in the countries ive mentioned are the people farming, "the small family farms" Another important point again the countries ive mentioned not only strive to protect these farming "places" and the people who farm there, many families having farmed these farms and the land for many generations, so know the problems, risks, breeds of livestock etc, but also encourage new "young farmers" to farm, farm in the tradtional areas, in the "traditional" way, but but, with the latest modern machinery and technolgy, developed for this? Again somethink the UK could learn lessons from?

 

[Andrew_Ni]

I’d say the Netherlands would be no. 1. I’ve a Dutch friend and he told me farmland in his area is €180,000/ha. Yes that is €180,000!!. Large scale tree nursary and flower bulb region.

Interesting to see what becomes of the farms bought out by the state in a bid to reduce production by 95% to combat nitrogen emissions. Will they become nature reserves or will multinationals pass a few brown envelops to green wash their emissions and claim carbon credits.

 

[Pistonbroke]

Japan for me too.
Certainly the most subsidised farming ... and an ageing population

Just looked at a few facts about Japan. All fert is being imported so the government have thrown a fortune into building plants to extract the phosphate from sewerage. Why not do the same here instead of dumping it down the river

 

[bluebell]

If thats right, 180,000 euros a hectare, why would you want all the work worry stress of trying to make that pay? i think theres more to it, than just stating that? its like a few years back irish farmers could sell their farms for more than double the price a similar UK farm was for sale and some did and then purchased a farm in the UK twice as big?The laws of selling, buying, owning and what you do with land are different in other countries to the uk? I remember some one from the UK bought a small farm in spain, done and dusted as far as they understood? wrong a local young spanish man came along and claimed that in spanish law the land should have been sold to a "spanish" native first, or had first refusal on the farm, and he won the case

 

[Pistonbroke]

I’d say the Netherlands would be no. 1. I’ve a Dutch friend and he told me farmland in his area is €180,000/ha. Yes that is €180,000!!. Large scale tree nursary and flower bulb region.

Interesting to see what becomes of the farms bought out by the state in a bid to reduce production by 95% to combat nitrogen emissions. Will they become nature reserves or will multinationals pass a few brown envelops to green wash their emissions and claim carbon credits.

Just seen a figure for farmland in Japan from 1996. $100,000/acre. Doubt if it's got any cheaper

 

[Sid]

It is probably difficult to compare when there are so many different variables such as;

Cost to buy/ rent land
Energy costs
Necessary infrastructure
Help in the form of subsidies, tax breaks and central support
Constraints such as regulations, restrictions and other requirements
Availability of anything
Costs to market

I rather suspect that England would be pretty high on a global list?

Would be interesting to see the cost of farmland for different areas versus the return from an average basket price of foods.

Farmland used to be valued as per its agricultural earning potential, which slowly changed due to tax breaks and latterly environmental payments.
Now carbon/energy/biodiversity net gain are all coming into play.

 

[fgc325j]

Maybe better to ask where farmers make it expencive to farm, even here you could farm for nothing.

You are right there - no matter how good the soil, there will be a limit on how much you can squeeze out of an acre, BUT there will be no limit on how much cost a
farmer will add.

 

[Steevo]

Places like switzerland, norway, and a few others, heavily subsidise their farmers, for 2 main reasons, one, if they didnt most if not all "commercial" farms would end, driven by the fact of world, market prices, the cost of land, and the "hardness" of farming in those countries, two, those countries are proud of their "heritage", traditions, customs, and want to preserve the farming landscape its "farmers" who farm that land etc, something us lot in the UK should "learn" from, ( im talking about, hill farming), small family farms, which in the countries ive mentioned are the people farming, "the small family farms" Another important point again the countries ive mentioned not only strive to protect these farming "places" and the people who farm there, many families having farmed these farms and the land for many generations, so know the problems, risks, breeds of livestock etc, but also encourage new "young farmers" to farm, farm in the tradtional areas, in the "traditional" way, but but, with the latest modern machinery and technolgy, developed for this? Again somethink the UK could learn lessons from?

Whereas in UK our government and civil service seem to value and prioritise any other culture. They seem more proud of the UK being progressive and multicultural, without realising that “British” will eventually end up counting for nothing at all. A mongrel effect.