Prices for renting grazing marshes on Haddiscoe Island have dropped by around 10pc this year, according to auctioneers.
TW Gaze's annual marsh letting auction included more than 730 acres of grazing land on the renowned marshland near Beccles.
Rachael Hipperson, a rural business director at the firm, said every lot offered by auctioneer Edward Baskerville was sold and the overall average for the island marshes was just over £91 per acre, around 10pc below the 2018 average of £100 per acre.
Prices varied from £60 per acre up to a top bid of £165 per acre, paid for a marsh belonging to the Askew Marshes Partnership.
'Grazing on the island was only offered for cattle grazing only, not sheep or horses, and those from within a low TB (bovine tuberculosis) risk area,' she said. 'The hirers were mostly local farmers from Norfolk and Suffolk but the strong interest from further away remains, attracted by the availability of experienced marshmen within a low TB risk area.'
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