UK farmland demand falls sharply as Brexit adds to price woes

Demand for farmland in Britain fell sharply in the first half of 2016, hurt by low commodity prices and uncertainty around the European Union membership referendum, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said on Wednesday. Forty-nine percent of chartered surveyors said they expected prices to fall across all types of farms in the coming year, according to RICS and the Royal Agricultural University survey. "Commodity price volatility was already negatively impacting sentiment in the rural land market prior to the EU referendum, and the outcome of the vote has added further uncertainty," said Jeff Matsu, RICS senior economist.