"Traditionally, farmland has been attractive to people who have accumulated wealth."Agricultural investments can be structured so that they offer similar tax breaks to forestry - in particular, 100 per cent relief on inheritance tax, and certain capital gains tax advantages, too.However, while specialists such as Forestry Investment Management do advise on agricultural investments, deals typically begin at £1m. Rics' Julian Sayers says: "Transactions were at a 20-year low because people have been waiting to find out how new rules on European Union subsidies will work, but also every sector of the farming market is facing rising costs and static prices."Even so, rural land can have potential investment value. "The picture could change very quickly, if people used City bonuses to buy farmland, for example," says Sayers. FIM, for example, is raising money for the Timber Growth Fund III. "Commercial viability would start at about £50,000, though larger plantations costing several hundred thousand pounds are more economic," he says.The alternative is to subscribe to a collective scheme, where your money is pooled with cash from other buyers. Over the three years to the end of 2004, returns were less impressive, at an annual average gain of 1.9 per cent.These figures look more attractive when you take into account the tax breaks, however.

UK growers can compete with European producers, thanks to the appreciation of the euro against the pound and the rising cost of imports. And, says Woolley, "many UK manufacturers buying timber are looking for wood with UK accreditation."As a result, UK timber prices rose 5.8 per cent in 2004, according to Investment Property Databank, pushing the total return on forestry to 9.3 per cent for the year. "Far too many people invest for the tax breaks without giving it enough thought."The good news, says Catherine Woolley, of forestry investment specialist Fountains, is that the outlook for timber has improved. Second, your forest should produce a crop of timber, which can be sold on the open market.However, there are no guaranteed returns Timber prices can be volatile. Also, timber is a long-term venture that does not yield a crop every year. Sitka spruce, the most commonly planted tree in commercial forests, operates on a rotation cycle of 35 to 40 years. Timber is only harvested at the end of each rotation and the forest is then replanted.Larger forests may include several sections of trees of different ages, which can produce a more regular income stream.

For a truly ethically sound investment, think about acquiring an asset where you can't see the wood for the trees. Forestry investment has impeccable environmental credentials. Not only is timber one of few renewable raw materials used by industry, but woodlands counter carbon dioxide pollution - and provide a varied habitat for nature. Moreover, forestry investment is tax-free. "You're making returns through the physical growth of your trees," explains Colin Millais, a director of Forestry Investment Management (FIM).Millais says that the typical forestry investment currently generates an equivalent annual return of about 4.5 per cent, after costs and inflation That return consists of two elements First, over time, the value of woodland appreciates.

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