The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Farmer selling off half his land for more than £1.6m
John Picken selling prime arable land to reduce his workload
Former NFU Scotland vice-president John Picken, who farms on the outskirts of St Andrews, has put half his farmland on the market.
Mr Picken, who was also a long-term chair of the union’s combinable crops committee, says he is selling a block of almost 300 arable acres at Feddinch and Waterless in order to reduce his workload.
“I lost our long-term tractorman two harvests ago and he is irreplaceable,” he said.
“I now farm single-handed and rely on contractors.”
The land is divided into 13 enclosures and lies across the road from the home farm of Priorletham. It is on the market in two lots at offers over £1,650,000 and Mr Picken said most of it is suitable for fruit, potatoes, vegetables and cereals.
In total there are 249 acres of arable, 12 acres of permanent pasture and 32 acres of woodland, approximately 22 acres of which were replanted with hybrid Sitka Spruce in 1996. The rest is older oak, beech, sycamore and some indigenous species like elderflower.
The land lies between 100m and 150m above sea level and the soils are made up of predominantly mineral gleys with some lighter alluvial soils. It is classified by the James Hutton Institute as class 3(1) and 3(2) .
The land is currently farmed in rotation as part of a larger farming enterprise with the focus being on the production of winter cereals.
Mr Picken said the clay loam soil was drought resistant and areas have been substantially re-drained with modern pipes and gravel infill.
He added that there was a derelict steading and house on the site which offered potential for a farmer to obtain planning permission for a dwelling in connection with farming operations.