Crisis after crisis has resulted in farmers abandoning the countryside

Research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reveals that four in 10 farms sold between April and June in Wales went to non-farmers.

Driven out by falling produce prices, foreign competition and crises such as foot-and-mouth disease, farmers are abandoning the countryside and city dwellers are moving in for the scenery and fresh air.

The report shows a trend of people buying small to medium-sized farms in order to live in the house, with no intention of farming the land themselves.

The report reveals that although 53% of Welsh farms sold in the three-month period went to other farmers, 39% were sold on to non-farmers.

"Rural land prices are not solely dependent on activity in the farming sector," said RICS spokesman, Julian Sayers.

"Such predictions fail to take account of the potential of other rural purchasers to bolster activity, such as residential buyers."

More city dwellers are buying farms for fresh air and the views

Huw Absalom, who runs a beef and arable farm on the foot of the Preseli mountains, near Crymych, believes the sale of land to incomers can be a boon to some farmers

A derelict farmhouse and barn on his land was valued at �140,000 by an estate agent, but a family from Surrey eventually bought the property for �170,000.

"Some people were angry because I'd sold the farmhouse to incomers, but if I'd sold it to locals for �90,000 there would have been nothing stopping them selling it on for �170,000," said Mr Absalom.

"These people were willing to pay more than the market price which enabled us to pay the mortgage on our farm and a bungalow as well as invest in other farm buildings."

Mr Absalom agrees that the problem of "armchair farmers" has bolstered land prices and made it more difficult for young people to buy their own farms.

People from the city are looking for rural idylls

Builth Wells chartered surveyor Irving Parry claims that demand for farms and land in mid Wales is high and is mainly driven by residential buyers.

"The farms we've sold recently have tended to involve the sale of a farmhouse, up to 50 acres of land and equestrian facilities to people from south east England or the Midlands," said Mr Parry.

"In our area a small family farm is now worth �5,000 an acre because the demand for residential buyers is so high that there is no way that small farms will be able to survive in the long term."

Farmers' Union of Wales President, Gareth Vaughan said many farmers had decided to give up the industry and find more profitable work away from the farm.

"There is a danger that essential services such as schools, post offices and local shops all face closure as villages are turned into little more than glorified holiday centres," he said.