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: 152

▶ 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

Ontario Farmers Face Warmer 2026 Growing Season with Uneven Moisture Outlook

Ontario farmers are entering the 2026 growing season with a warmer-than-normal outlook and uncertain rainfall. While heat may boost crop development, uneven moisture conditions could create regional stress.

Canada Faces Below-Average Hurricane Season, Will Farmers be Safe?

A quieter hurricane season is expected in 2026, but Environment Canada warns that strong storms can still pose serious risks. Early preparation remains essential.

Future of research, regulations among topics discussed during Federal Ag Minister's visit to Saskatchewan

Federal Agriculture Minister Heath McDonald kicked off a two-day visit to Saskatchewan Tuesday with a stop at the University of Saskatchewan. McDonald toured the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and afterward met with industry stakeholders. The discussions were focused on research with 16 representatives participating in the discussions, both in-person and virtually. The federal government received heavy criticism for plans to close seven Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research facilities across the country. These include a major Research and Development Centre at Lacombe, Alberta, satellite research farms at Scott and Indian Head in Saskatchewan, as well as Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The planned closures are part of broader federal budget cuts. Farmer organizations and research scientists have been lobbying to keep the facilities open by looking at alternative measures. MacDonald is listening to what they are saying. "When these closures started, the discussion, it was

Ag in the Classroom connects Indigenous youth with agriculture opportunities

Ag in the Classroom is working with First Nations to inform young people about the opportunities available in Agriculture. An event was held last Wednesday at the University of Saskatchewan that was attended by more than 200 grade 8 to 12 students -- some travelling more than four hours to get to Saskatoon. "The idea behind this event was to bring Indigenous youth from across the province to the College of Ag and Bioresources and begin to explore agriculture and food sovereignty and hopefully get inspired to consider how they could be a part of either agriculture as a career in their future or different initiatives that might be taking place now or in the future in their community." explained Sara Shymko, Executive Director of Ag in the Classroom Saskatchewan. One of the guest speakers was Cadmus Delorme. While Delorme was Chief of the Cowessess First Nation, there was an agricultural revival, with more than 5,000 acres now being farmed. "They don't necessarily farm exactly the sam

Number of employees in the agriculture sector edges up in 2024

There were 280,991 employees in the agriculture sector in 2024, edging up 0.1% from 2023. Almost half of all agricultural workers were employed in horticulture industries in 2024, led by greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production (+1.6% to 64,682), and vegetable and melon farming (+3.5% to 36,105), while employment in fruit and tree nut farming (-9.0% to 28,271) declined year over year. Oilseed and grain farming remained the second-largest employer in the sector, with its number of agricultural employees rising 1.1% to 49,456. Seasonal employees accounted for almost half (48.6%) of all agricultural workers in 2024 (136,603), down from 49.5% in 2023, continuing the gradual decline in the share of seasonal employees in recent years. Full-time employment rose 1.8% to 103,948, while part-time employment was up 1.5% to 40,440. Farms in Ontario continued to employ the largest number of workers (83,363) in 2024, up 1.2% from 2023. Quebec followed with 69,717 employees (+0.9%). In 202

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service