The average value of farmland has hit its highest level in four years.

This is one of the findings of Knight Frank’s latest Farmland Index which tracks farmland performance up to the end of Q3 2021.

Prices for bare land rose almost four per cent in the third quarter of 2021 to £7,320/acre.

This marks the third consecutive quarter of growth and was the strongest quarterly performance since March 2014.

Limited supply and strong demand are the main reasons for this growth.

The hike takes annual growth to 5 per cent, the biggest 12-month jump since June 2015.

Farmers accounted for more than a third (39 per cent) of buyers, but more than half (55 per cent) were either lifestyle purchasers or investors.

Demand is increasingly being driven by three factors: rollover relief, rewilding or sustainability focused buyers and carbon investors.

Andrew Shirley, head of rural research at Knight Frank said: "Rewilding is easy to dismiss as a fad, and many people have a slightly romanticised vision of what it entails, but it is now a genuine force in the market.”