Rise in Canadian Farmland Values Slows Down

Apr 19, 2017

“Farmland values are still increasing but at a slower pace,” Gervais said during his online interview.That’s true at the national level when you average out all the different provinces.If you think of Ontario and Quebec, we have four years of consecutive increases slowing down, while in Saskatchewan for example, the third consecutive year of rate of growth coming down, so really I think farmland values are cooling off.

FCC’s latest Farmland Values Report shows farmland values increased by an average of 7.9 percent in 2016, compared to 10.1 percent in 2015 and 14.3 per cent in 2014.

“I’m calling this a slowdown because we’ve had 10 amazing years of growth when it comes to farm income,” Gervais added. ”In less than 10 years actually we’ve more than doubled crop receipts and that’s especially true in the prairies.”

FCC Chief Agricultural Economist J.P. Gervais says what stands out is that, for the third consecutive year, growth has slowed down.

“We’re looking at 2016 now and we don’t yet have the final numbers for 2016 but we know that crop receipts have likely slowed down,” he said.In Saskatchewan, for example, you’re likely to get crop receipts down in 2016 relative to 2015, partly because of some of the production challenges, quality issues, and softer pricing.We did face lower prices on average in 2016 than in 2015, so overall I think we’ve had slower growth when it comes to farm revenues and that slows down farmland value increases. That’s the number one driver.

Gervais says other factors, such as interest rates, also play a role but lower income is the main factor.

Source: Meatbusiness

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.