The average increase in value of cultivated Canadian farmland was 11.5 per cent in 2023, and there is clear evidence that the cost of owning land in some areas now outstrips its income generation ability.

Opinion: Diversity model may buffer risk of farmland buys

Should farmers consider ecological diversity as a risk management tool?

Glacier FarmMedia – It’s the time of year that farmland often changes hands. This spring, there is an increase of sales in certain sectors, driven by land stress and owners’ inability to weather another financial or literal storm. Many of these properties are monocultures or singularly focused production units and highly dependent on one source […] Read more


“When the price of farms was doubling in a short time like it was, we just didn’t see a future for the next generation to continue on.” – David Graber.

Amish community relocates after nearly 65 years

Skyrocketing land prices spur communal decision

A farming neighbourhood south of St. Marys saw slow but steady changes in the landscape during the past year as a long-established Amish community disbanded and dispersed. Change came in the form of powerlines extended to houses where previous residents went without electricity, fence lines bulldozed and huge maples downed on the edges of woodlots […] Read more


Jim Rogers could unload his harvest directly into rail cars, thanks to the rail spur that was part of his land purchase in Kapuskasing.

The prospect of farming in the Great Clay Belt

It may be too daunting for some, but the potential is there

It’s an area larger than the total acreage now farmed in Ontario, yet the prospect of clearing, tiling and bringing the 16 million acres of the Great Clay Belt to productivity is questionable, if not daunting. It has taken producers in Ontario’s ‘Near North’ region of Temiskaming Shores, Earlton and Englehart more than 50 years […] Read more

Real estate apps are already big business in residential markets. If they cut transaction costs, why not in agriculture too?
 Photo: Getty Images

U.S. Lawmakers seek to limit corporate, foreign ownership of farmland

Farm groups, lawmakers are concerned that foreign, investor ownership is driving up prices and threatening national security

Washington | Reuters – U.S. lawmakers from both parties are pushing legislation that would limit who can own American farmland, with a latest effort from Democratic Senator Cory Booker aimed at curbing corporate ownership. Farm groups and lawmakers are concerned that land buys by investors and foreign countries are driving up farmland prices and threatening […] Read more

“If we’re not careful and we don’t take measures now, we’re going to lose out. At some point we have to protect our capacity to produce.” – Margaret Zafiriou.

Pressure increases on farmland

CAPI report highlights what’s needed to save farmland while increasing production and protecting the environment

Ensuring Canada remains an agricultural powerhouse requires concerted efforts to preserve the country’s natural capital and resources, particularly farmland, according to a recent Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) report. With long-term planning, the pressures affecting agricultural productivity and farmland loss in Canada can be navigated, bringing greater prosperity and environmental improvement at home, as well […] Read more


(Shotbydave/iStock/Getty Images)

Buy or rent? Land rent-to-price ratio can help farmers decide

FCC sees current ratios on farmland as (roughly) stable

Higher interest rates don’t seem to be affecting the ratio between land values and land rental costs — at least, not yet. Farm Credit Canada’s latest analysis of farmland rental prices says they’re roughly maintaining their traditional linkage, says J.P Gervais, the organization’s chief economist. “We were curious to see whether that would bring up […] Read more

“We have not yet seen the full impact of higher interest rates on the demand for farmland.” J.P. Gervais.  Graphic: Farm Credit Canada

Farmland values exceed expectations

Ontario leads the country with 19.4 per cent increase

Average farmland prices were up 12.8 per cent in Canada in 2022, the largest increase seen since 2014 when the increase was 14.3 per cent. The increase follows gains of 8.3 per cent in 2021 and 5.4 per cent in 2020. J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief economist, said the numbers were a little bit of a […] Read more