The Rural Report 2023/24 – nine highlights for rural property owners and businesses

The theme of The Rural Report 2023/24 this year is “Planet”. All of our articles touch on this concept in one way or another, whether that’s looking at the potential of natural capital to generate new income streams or how demand from environmentally minded potential buyers is pushing up the value of farmland.

Here we give you some bitesize snippets of the key themes and topics from this year's report which range from natural capital and its potential monetary rewards to the reasons behind rising farmland values. 

Download The Rural Report 2023/24

Is natural capital as profitable as it seems? 

Natural capital is the asset class of the moment, but in an emerging market it pays to do your research before deciding what to do with any of your own that you have identified. Not every buyer’s interests will necessarily be aligned with your aspirations for the future of your estate.

Read the online article here

Meet Knight Frank’s rural and Agri-Consultancy teams

Our Rural and Agri-Consultancy teams are growing rapidly, with new offices opening the length and breadth of England.

From the north, Simon Britton explains the habits of successful farmers. And in the south east, our Horsham team is helping match up natural capital and potential buyers.

Read more on pages 24,25 and 76,77

UK farmland and tenants 

Around a third of England’s farmland is tenanted, but in many cases the relationship between landlord and tenant is strained. This could undermine the productivity of the countryside when it is being asked to deliver many things. Knight Frank’s Alastair Paul has some thought-provoking ideas to address the problem.

Read more on page 30

UK farmland values 

Farmland values continue to rise despite the headwinds facing farming businesses. Part of the reason is a lack of supply of farms coupled with strong demand from environmental buyers.

If you are thinking of selling land, now could be a good time to take advantage of the mismatch.

Read the online article here

Farming: urban vs. rural 

As Anna Jones points out in her book Divided, urbanites and country dwellers don’t always understand each other or communicate very well. But The Felix Project, started by one of our clients, is a wonderful example of how farming can help solve some of our cities’ most pressing problems.

Read more on pages 14 & 61

Insights from a new entrant to farming

Against all the odds and with no help from either the banks or government a new entrant from southern Africa finds a farm for his family in Cambridgeshire.

Be inspired by David Mwanaka’s 20-year entrepreneurial journey, which shows anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Read the online article here

Finance and accounting 

It was good to return to Guy Ritchie’s Ashcombe Estate, which continues to diversify. They may not be as glamorous as new kit, but efficient client finance and accounting tools are vital.

App-based cloud technology makes it easier than ever to join all the dots, even on the move. Here we look at why you should consider investing your capital now.

Read more on page 64

Why regenerative agriculture? 

Visiting a client’s Kentish arable business it was rewarding to see large-scale regenerative farming in action.

Proving it’s not just a system suitable for smaller mixed units, input costs were down but yields were still impressively high for these regenerative farmers.

If you haven’t considered the regenerative route, it’s worth getting in touch.

Read the online article here

The healing power of natural capital 

The powerful testimonies of Ben Goldsmith, CEO of Menhaden Capital Management and a former non-executive director at Defra, and food poverty campaigner, Jane Byam Shaw about how nature helped them heal in some way following the death of a child were intensely moving.

It’s one example of how natural capital can be beyond value.

Read more on pages 12 & 58