By Charlene Tebbutt

Value of Saskatchewan farm land up in region

Apr 23, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The value of Saskatchewan farm land is up as available property becomes more limited, interest rates drop and outside investors look to expand their operations.

A report from Farm Credit Canada says land values are going up, although at a slower rate than previous years. The increasing numbers are a sign of a strong farm economy in Saskatchewan, the FCC said in a report this week.

In the Northwest area of the province, land values were up 14.9 per cent, while the Northeast area saw an increase of 1.5 per cent. Land values range from $600 to $2,900 in the northwest and $700 to $2,300 in the northeast.

Amber Tuplin, senior appraiser with FCC, said there is a demand for land in Saskatchewan’s northwest region, due in part to a limited supply. The region also has a number of producers from across the border in Alberta, who are farming land in both provinces, she said.

“There’s a limited supply, so we have lots of producers trying to expand their land base and they did have some good crops in 2016,” Tuplin told farmnewsNOW.

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However, it’s a different story for the northeast area, where the late harvest affected land sales, Tuplin added.

On average, the value of farm land across Canada increased 8.4 per cent in 2017, up from 7.9 per cent the year before, the FCC said in the report. While average land values have increased every year since 1993, the FCC cautions that the increases are less pronounced in recent years.

Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia reported the largest average increases, the FCC said.

Tuplin said there is still optimism in the market.

“If there’s land that’s put on the market, people are still positive and investing in Canadian agriculture,” she added.

charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @charlenetebbutt