Farmland in British Columbia and Quebec increased the most in value in 2020, with Alberta rounding out the top three according to Farm Credit Canada’s annual farmland value report.
Despite COVID-19, on average, Canadian farmland values increased by 5.4 per cent, following a just-slightly lower 2019 value of 5.2 per cent growth.
Land in British Columbia and Quebec grew by 8 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively. Alberta showed an increase of 6 per cent and Saskatchewan hit 5.4 per cent. Ontario and Manitoba both reported increases that were lower than the national average at 4.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively.
The Maritime provinces saw the smallest increases in farmland values for 2020, with an average increase of 2.3 per cent for Prince Edward Island, 1.6 per cent for Nova Scotia and 1.3 per cent for New Brunswick. There was insufficient public data for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Listen in to a conversation between JP Gervais and Shaun Haney to hear more about the methodology behind the report, and more. Story continues below the interview.
The report showed a noticeably lower number of sales in early 2020, mostly in April and May, however, the total number of sales for the entire year was like those of the past few years. “Despite a challenging global economic environment, commodity prices increased considerably in the last half of 2020 for many crops, and interest rates have reached historic lows,” the summary reads.
Put into context of the last 10 years, this is the fifth year of single digit growth in farmland values. Out of the last decade, values jumped the most in 2013 — a staggering 22.1 per cent.
Read the full report, here.
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