George Drewett (FCG WhiteAvon)

Over the summer I went on a trip to France with the aim of gaining a greater understanding of farming in France, specifically looking at land prices, which areas provide the best value for money and how profitability compares to the UK.  We used the Eurotunnel (Le Shuttle) and travelled down to Confolens, just south of Poitiers.  Confolens is in the Charente department of France, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (approximately a 7-hour drive from Calais or 5 hours from Caen).    

Our friends are in the process of purchasing a farm in France and they were looking around this area and used the support of a French Farm Agent, Mark Booth (who specialises in European purchasers) to purchase the land.  Mark kindly met with us to answer our questions about the French farming system and the process of purchasing a farm, as well as showing us around two farms for sale.

There is a significant amount of subsidy funding available, especially in the Less Favoured Areas.  The base payment is in the region of €110-115/Ha, with greening payments of 68% and coupled payments for sheep, cattle and goats at €21/head.  This is set for the next 5 years.   In the Aquitaine region, average yields of wheat are budgeted at 5 tonnes/ha, dried maize grain at 6.5-7 tonnes/ha.  If land can be irrigated, the yields increase for dried grain maize to approximately 10-15 tonnes/ha. Cattle would stock at 1.2-1.4 livestock units/ha (as a suckler herd).

For British purchasers, the process tends to take at least a year from when funds are available to completion; it is a bureaucratic system which requires strong evidence. The system is designed to prevent outside investors from purchasing land and not actively farming it.  Therefore, even using contract farmers can result in the contractor establishing a tenancy and the only way to prevent this risk is for the owner to farm the land personally.  When a farm comes onto the market it is automatically offered by the government to all local farmers and family and if there is no interest, then a potential purchaser from the open market can apply.

Farms to the northwest of this area (towards Normandy and Brittany) rarely come to the market and the land values are significantly higher when they do.  The average arable farm would need to be a minimum of 300ha to achieve a sufficient return (and will quite often include a large chateau in need of substantial investment!).  Interest rates for a 15–20-year loan are approximately 3.75% at the moment.  

Average farm sizes in the Aquitaine region are 120-130ha and rents are controlled by the government (linked to a national index).  Land values vary depending on irrigation, buildings and houses, but bare land can be purchased at approximately £2,000/acre with farm buildings and farmhouses from anywhere between £350,000 – £500,000.  The farmhouses and buildings tend to be of poorer construction and are generally in need of investment and improvement.

The conclusion we reached is that purchasing a second farm in France as an investment is not really an option and is considerably more complicated than we’d anticipated.  But if you are dedicated to moving to France permanently to personally farm the land and immerse yourselves in the French culture, there are significant savings and profits to be made.

Contact George at georgedrewett@fcgagric.com for more information.