THE value of farm land in Gloucestershire has shot up to almost double the national average, according to a major property agency.

Knight Frank said the average price of farm land it sold in the county in the past 12 months was almost £9,000 per acre.

It compares to the national average, which the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said is £5,145 per acre.

The news is likely to prompt a mixed response from the Gloucestershire farming community.

Farmers nearing the end of their careers could be tempted to cash in on the high value of their land to obtain a retirement nest egg but young people may not be able to afford to buy the land they want to begin a life in farming.

Tim Perry owns 150 acres of land at Church Farm, Bushley, near Tewkesbury and farms another 250 acres of land in the area.

He has mixed feelings about the high price of farm land in the county. He said: "It's not a blip, I don't think – it's a trend.

"When we want to retire, it will be great but for somebody starting out in farming, it's impossible.

"You would struggle to make a living by buying land at £10,000 an acre. It makes a nonsense of it.

"I don't know how the next generation are going to get going."

He said he felt a lot of farm land was being bought as an investment, for tax reasons or to stop somebody else buying it.

"Those prices for the land bear no relation to what you can earn on it. As a working farm, it doesn't add up. Investment rates are rubbish at the moment but land is a fairly safe bet," he added.

Knight Frank said two farms within 12 miles of Cirencester had sold for £10,000 per acre, excluding farm buildings.

Atty Beor-Roberts, head of the company's Cirencester office, said: "Land in the Cotswolds and Gloucestershire is a rare and sought after commodity.

"Supply is limited and demand is strong. When land comes onto the market in the area, it presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy."