According to Farm Credit Canada’s annual report, the average value of Canadian farmland was up by an average of 8.3 per cent in 2021, despite challenges such as drought and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Alberta, the increase was modest at 3.6 per cent. To compare, the neighboring prairie province of Saskatchewan saw a 7.4 per cent increase and western neighbour British Columbia, with an 18.1 per cent boost.
“I wouldn’t see it as a negative thing; the 3.6 per cent” said FCC appraiser Kurri Carlson.
“I’d see it as… we’re stable and you can buy a piece of land for similar to what you could buy it for last year.”
The report states the drought conditions faced by Alberta farmers had little effect on the value of their land in 2021.
Lower yields were partially offset by high commodity prices, and the southern part of Alberta saw the province’s most growth in land value.
“We see large difference in hotspots in certain areas,” explained Ben Van Dyk, a longtime farm and ranch realtor based in Coaldale.
He added buyers are looking for a certain feature when choosing land.
“For irrigated land, just about for every parcel of land there’s five buyers,” he said.
“Certain areas where the drought was excessive, there’s not much sales going on.”
According to Van Dyk, prime irrigated land is going for as high as $20,000 per acre, while the top of the dryland market is more like $7,000.
The full Farmland Values Report can be found here.