Limited Availability Pushes Farmland Prices Higher

Lack of available farmland for sale is continuing to push land values higher this year, the mid-year farmland values review by Farm Credit Canada (FCC) said.  Over the first six months of 2023, the national average growth rate of farmland was 7.7 per cent.

The highest farmland value increases over the last six months were reported in Saskatchewan at 11.4 per cent and Quebec at 10.6 per cent, the report noted. Ontario and Manitoba saw nearly identical increases, with farmland values in Ontario increasing by 6.9 per cent, and Manitoba by 6.4 per cent. Alberta had a more modest increase of three per cent, while the average price of farmland stayed unchanged in British Columbia. Fewer sales were available in Canada’s Atlantic provinces to fully assess mid-year farmland values. 

“Limited land for sale has been driving farmland values higher over the last six months,” J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief economist, said in a news release on the report. “With higher interest rates, elevated farm input costs and uncertainty regarding future commodity prices, producers are being cautious with their investments and capital expenditures.”