Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Agriculture Real Estate??

I am interested in knowing any thoughts on what farmers are looking for from an ag real estate ad or realtor. I want to know the type of person you might want to be looking on your behalf and what type of qualifications they  have to help you.

- is it better that they tell you right out about their farming experience or should they prove it to you through their use of knowledge

- How do you go about finding farm land, hobby farm land, or acres with a home on it?

Any thoughts and advice would be great :)

mac

Views: 139

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by OntAG Admin on July 4, 2011 at 9:45am

Hi Mackenna,

If you are looking at farmland, I would stick with someone who knows agriculture.

We have alot of good members on www.realestate.farms.com website.

Hope this helps,

Joe

 

Permalink Reply by David Kopriva on July 5, 2011 at 3:55am

What great questions.

First of all if you are selling a farm you have to prove its viability especially if it is an existing operation. Too many realtors are very inexperienced when it comes to selling the business end of the farm. They show the houses but nothing on  the operation and cash flow statements. Can't live on a farm if it is not viable. Another argument that can be used by the realtor is to state that it is the future owners responsibility to envision the farms future. This is true only if it is not an ongoing operation. Even if it is an annual crop that was grown on the land a realtor should have detailed information on the crops grown on the land for the past 5 years and types of fertilizer and herbicides used. The realtor should also have detailed soils survey from the current owner if the current owner farms the land. Any farmer worth his/her salt has this information on a split second notice ( or at least should have). This type of information can help sell the operation and also get a premium for the farm.

Permalink Reply by Mackenna Roth on July 5, 2011 at 4:02am

Thanks to both of you.

 

Joe - I am looking to see what qualities a person might look for in a person who sells AG real estate vs actually buying farmland.

 

David - thank you for the information. It is very true that with farm real estate you need to know as much about the land as you do the buildings on it.

 

Mackenna

Permalink Reply by John Schwartzentruber on July 5, 2011 at 6:29am

If I were buying a farm, I'm not sure that I would take the realtor's or the vendor's word on the viability of the farm. After all who's responsibility is it to know what will work?

 

Furthermore, it would be interesting to assess the stand-alone viability of many of the farms that have sold in this area in the past year or more. Growing legal crops, that is . . .

Permalink Reply by Greg Edwards on July 6, 2011 at 6:50am

I am not a farmer, but I do plan on buying arable land in the mid-term and perhaps in the long term farming such land. 

 

To date I have made several serious enquiries about certain parcels of land, while I don't know much about farming I know enough to ask some basic questions regarding crop history, soil samples and typical yields.  Every realtor I have asked these questions of either did not know the information or stated that such information would be provided on making an offer.  Sorry, but both excuses are weak.  I kind of want to know that information up front when considering a purchase.

 

I should say that my father has been in the real estate business for close to 40 years.  He has never really sold farms or arable land.  If he listed such property he may not know enough about the business end of the operations to speak to them with any confidence. 

 

I think there may be a need for realtors with expertise in farming, but to effectively do so they would have to have enough business to make specialization worthwhile.

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Agriculture Day Highlights the Importance of Public Research for Prairie Farmers

As Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) works through research and staffing changes, clear communication will be key for Alberta farmers and seed developers as they plan for the next phase of Canadian agricultural innovation. Today’s Agriculture Day is a good moment to recognize the people, partnerships, and public institutions that keep Canadian agriculture competitive, resilient, and innovative. It’s also a natural time to reflect on how agricultural research in Canada is changing, and why transparency and communication matter to the people who rely on that work every season. AAFC is currently in a period of transition. Like many federal departments, it is navigating workforce adjustments and internal decisions that will shape how its research programs operate in the years ahead. So far, aside from occasional confirmations to media about closures and layoffs, AAFC has not publicly released formal details on the changes underway. That’s understandable. Staff deserve time to make

Register today: SeedWorld Webinar

Save your spot AAFC research cuts have put new pressure on Canada’s plant breeding pipeline — especially in Western Canada, where crop innovation is essential to competitiveness, diversification, and long-term resilience. This webinar convenes leaders from across the seed and crop development system to ask a simple question: If we could design the ideal plant breeding model for Western Canada today, what would it look like? If Canada wants to remain globally competitive, plant breeding can’t be treated as optional infrastructure. This session is a timely conversation about what needs to change — and what could be built.   Attendees can expect to learn: How AAFC research cuts are impacting plant breeding in Western Canada What an “ideal world” plant breeding system could look like today Why a producer-driven, not-for-profit model is gaining attention How plant breeding can be funded sustainably for the long term What needs to change to keep Canada globally competitive in crop innova

Ag in federal NDP leadership candidate plans

Rob Ashton, the national president of the International Longshore Workers Union, addresses ag through an indirect proposal

Indoor Berry Farming Without Bees

Montel and TMU have partnered to test airflow-based pollination technology at MoFarm, aiming to produce indoor berries without bees and strengthen Canada’s year-round food production system.

Market Outlook - Wheat

Bids to Canadian prairie producers have been relatively flat with basis improvements being thrown at producer bids to entice product into the system when needed on futures drops. The market sits comfortably for the time being but will keep its focus onto winter wheat conditions in Black Sea, European Union and United States when they do begin to break dormancy into April. The crops in these regions are believed to have escaped the worst of the winterkill scenarios mid January. Some drought issues in the U.S. winter wheat growing region and some mixed state-by-state analytics in the periodical updates provided on the overwintering crop. Once dormancy breaks, that’s when we will know the best and the market will likely stay sideways until it gets a solid feel of what that crop looks like. Aside from this, demand drive is what the market will need to see to chew away at some of the increased stocks that have ended up on the global balance sheet. As for Western Canadian wheat values, we ar

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service