Farm Credit Canada announced this week farmland prices in Canada increased 10 percent last year as the nation’s property boom is spreading to agriculture. A report by Farm Credit Canada found the average price of farmland across Canada increased 10.1 percent in 2016 as low-interest rates and strong crop income helped maintain demand. The 2016 increase, according to the report, follows part of a continuous uptrend in farmland prices in Canada that started in 1993. The gains, however, are lower than in recent years, as 2013 saw a 22 percent increase and 2014 recorded a 14 percent increase. The agricultural finance group says prices aren’t going up evenly across Canada. Despite the higher average nationally and in every province, many more regions across the country saw price declines in 2015 than saw them in 2014. In a news release, Farm Credit Canada said: “There appears to be greater volatility with a higher number of locales where values decreased,” advising farmers to prepare for a potential softening of the market as lower crop prices have an impact.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.