Chaired by Ian Brown, of One North East, the event at Close House on the outskirts of Newcastle covered a range of issues from land valuation and tax planning to the new EC nitrates directive.
Panellists included Hugh Fell, managing partner of Geo
rge F White; Richard Garland, a chartered surveyor from George F White's specialist planning team; Adrian Sherwood, the rural development programme manager at One North East, and Robert Wharton, farming partner from Dodd & Co, Carlisle, and an ICAEW farming rural business group member.
Mr Fell's message to the 70 financiers was that investing in farmland was a relatively safe bet.
He said the current yield from farmland is two to three per cent with good capital growth and it also has an amenity value. He told the delegates that regardless of how the land is used, what isn't in dispute is that the land will remain in place. Also, as there is no inheritance tax liability on agricultural land, £1million invested in farmland represents a saving of £400,000 for future beneficiaries.
He sees this trend continuing and said: "By 2050, there will be nine billion people in the world that will need to be fed so farm land will definitely be at a premium."
He told the delegates that he believes that environmental issues will be paramount and that people must take this on board.
He said: "The climate is changing and water will become an important commodity as these changes affect rainfall."
His presentation ended with a discussion on biogas which, with government support for renewable obligation certificates, could become a profitable source of additional income for land owners, increasing yields considerably.
Mr Garland spoke on the effects of climate change and how it would affect land values. He advised that when investing in farmland, people should take a 20 to 50-year view, taking into account potential implications of climate change.
