Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Record prices reported for Ontario farmland


Mississauga, ON (September 12, 2011) – Rising agricultural commodity values and tight inventory levels have seriously contributed to a significant upswing in the price of Ontario farmland in 2011, according to a report released today by RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada.

The  studied, with pent-up demand fuelling unprecedented momentum virtually across the province. Upward pressure on acreage values has been consistent as a result. Of the 12 major agricultural communities examined, 11 (92 per cent) reported tight inventory levels, while nine (75 per cent) noted an increase in price per acre. Despite the current volatility in commodity prices, the long-term prospects for the agricultural industry continue to be bolstered by global realities, including population growth, an international grain shortage and decreased availability of quality farmland from a worldwide perspective.

“Farming operations are increasing in size as today’s farmers seek to boost production through the accumulation of acreage,” says Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “On a national scale, the average farm has tripled in size over the past 50 years. Much of the current expansion is attributed to the booming cash crop business. The shortage of quality farmland has sparked serious competition and exerted upward pressure on prices – a trend that is expected to continue. With commodities on the upswing and greater export opportunities to supply emerging markets, Ontario farmers are now strategically positioning themselves to compete on a world stage.”

Farmers have invested heavily in capital expenditures in recent years, spending millions on farm equipment to maximize efficiencies. As commodity prices have risen, so too have the price per acre of workable farmland. The most expensive farmland in the province is found in the Holland Marsh/Bradford area, where prices can climb as high as $20,000 per acre. New Liskeard boasts the greatest affordability, where the price per acre of tiled farmland can run from $1,300 to $2,500.

Expansion, while serving to bolster demand, has also caused a shift in the composition of Ontario farmland. There has been a marked decline in the number of smaller farms, while larger operations continue to increase in size. This was evident in all Ontario markets, especially as smaller acreages are harder to come by due to amalgamation and restrictions on severances. The trend—which has been ongoing for years—is supported by the most recent Census data, which shows that the number of overall farms in Ontario shrank from 85,015 in 2001 to 82,410 in 2006. Farmers are acquiring land by either purchasing—their first preference—or renting from adjacent farmers. Because of the severe shortage of farmland listings, the demand for leased land has surged—a fact that has also driven rental rates to new highs within the province. Given this, retiring farmers are increasingly opting to hold on to their land and lease it to neighbours. The strategy—while exacerbating the supply problem—has proven profitable in recent years and less volatile than other forms of investment such as the stock market.

“There are a number of clear signs that the market is quite heated at present,” notes Polzler. “In addition to supply and demand, the trend toward door-knocking and private sales has increased. Another factor is the  presence of investors—a small, but growing segment of buyers. Until recently, investment activity—common in Western Canadian farmland markets—was a rare phenomenon in Ontario. The trend is a promising one, indicating growing confidence in the future of Ontario’s agricultural real estate.”

While investors represent a small percentage of farmland holdings, it’s estimated that end users account for 95 per cent of Ontario farm ownership—a fact that bodes well for the ongoing health and stability of the market. Not surprisingly, investors have been most active in areas where considerable urban sprawl is underway, including Barrie, Innisfil and Bradford, where progress has driven prime development land prices upwards of $20,000 to as much as $100,000 an acre in some pockets. Pending construction—which in some cases can be years down the road—developers are renting the parcels to local farmers in a bid to preserve farm status and a lower tax rate.

Diversification also continues to prop-up demand as farmers seek to maximize the potential of their operations. Far from traditional mom and pop businesses, many of today’s farms are complex, multi-faceted enterprises. Some supply-managed farmers are choosing to acquire additional land to branch out into cash cropping, while others seek to capitalize on energy and environmental trends. A growing number of farmers are entering into contracts to host wind or solar power projects, while others opt to permit the extraction of gas and natural resources, as seen in markets like Chatham-Kent and Windsor and Essex County. These arrangements have provided an alternate source of income and underscored the budding possibilities that exist for land owners.

The farmland segment comprises a small portion of real estate sales in Canada. *Yet, the land supports an industry (primary farming) that accounted for 1.7 per cent of total GDP. Overall the agriculture and related agrifood system accounted of 8.2 per cent of total GDP or $98 billion dollars in 2009 and supported one in eight (two million) Canadian jobs. Ontario and Quebec account for the largest share of employment (70 per cent) in agriculture and food processing. Canada is the fourth-largest food exporter globally, with exports valued at $35.2 billion. In 2009, Canadian grain and grain products were exported to over 110 countries worldwide.


RE/MAX is Canada’s leading real estate organization with over 18,500 sales associates situated throughout more than 700 independently-owned and operated offices in Canada. The RE/MAX network, now in its 38 global real estate system operating in over 80 countries, with more than 6,200 independently-owned offices and over 89,000 member sales associates. RE/MAX realtors lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production while providing real estate services in residential, commercial, referral, and asset management. For more information, visit: www.remax.ca.


*Source:  An Overview of the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food System (2011), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

For more information:

Christine Martysiewicz RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada 905.542.2400

Eva Blay/Charlene McAdam Point Blank Communications 416.781.3911

 

 

 


RE/MAX Market Trends Report – Farm Edition 2011 found that shortages exist in the vast majority of centres


Check out the information for your area by scrolling through the report:

Views: 489

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

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

GIFS at USask is striving to be the world’s preferred partner for agriculture and food innovation

At the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), ambition meets action. Across our diverse operations, our team has developed unique capabilities to support impactful research and development. From genomics to biomanufacturing to data analytics and more, our strengths place us among a select group of global institutions equipped to drive innovation at scale. Today, we are the only organization in Canada with the expertise, capabilities, and unique model to enable partnerships with both public- and private-sector organizations from discovery through to delivery, accelerating innovation at every stage. Based in Saskatchewan — the heart of Western Canada and the largest producer of field crops in Canada — we’re strategically positioned to collaborate with global partners and deliver scalable, impactful solutions. “Our ambition is to be the preferred partner for ag and food innovation — not just here, but globally — and we are global. We’re b

Crop Report for the Period October 7 to October 13, 2025

Producers made solid harvest progress on remaining crop acres and got plenty of other field work done last week, before rain and snowfall on the weekend halted operations in many areas. Producers are hoping to get back in the field prior to winter to harvest the few remaining crop acres and finish field work. Provincially, harvest is 98 per cent complete. Most crop is off in the west-central and northeast regions as progress sits at 99 per cent, followed by the southeast and northwest at 98 per cent and the southwest and east-central at 97 per cent. Although most producers have finished harvest, some have a small amount of oilseed, chickpea and canary seed crops remaining in the field. For oilseed crops, canola is 98 per cent harvested, mustard is 95 per cent, flax is 87 per cent and soybeans are 83 per cent harvested. For the other small acreage crops, canary seed is 92 per cent harvested and chickpeas are 88 per cent harvested. All other pulse, spring cereal and winter cereal cro

Grain deliveries by Canada's two major railways strong in Week 10: Ag Transport Coalition

Week 10 saw system performance improve slightly for a fifth consecutive week with CN and CPKC Rail combined supplying 93% of hopper cars ordered, an improvement from the 92% order fulfillment performance seen in week 9. System performance remains above the 90% threshold for the second consecutive week.  That's according to the Ag Transport Coalition. In supplying 96% of cars ordered by shippers in week 10, CN saw performance improve from the 92% order fulfillment performance in week 9.  CN performance has now been above the 90% threshold for two straight weeks having improved performance for five straight weeks.  CPKC saw performance decline slightly, with the railway supplying 91% of cars ordered by shippers, down slightly from the 93% order fulfillment performance seen in week 9.  CPKC remains above the 90% performance threshold for a second straight week.

Wheat and canola ending stocks unchanged over past month: AAFC

Updated supply/demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, released Oct. 17, included only minor adjustments to the balance sheets for the country’s major grains and oilseeds. Projected 2025/26 ending stocks for wheat and canola were left unchanged from the September report, at 5.2 million and 2.5 million tonnes respectively.  That would compare with wheat ending stocks in 2024/25 of 4.112 million and canola carryout of 1.597 million tonnes. The projected usage numbers for canola were left unchanged, with exports forecast at 7 million tonnes and domestic usage at 12.226 million tonnes.  If realized, exports would be down by 25 per cent from 2024/25, while domestic usage would increase by 4.8 per cent. Projected wheat exports were raised to 27.4 million tonnes, from 27 million in September.  However, that would still be down by 6.2 per cent from 2024/25.  Wheat domestic usage was down by 400,000 tonnes from September, at 8.241 million tonnes.  That compares with 7.96

Alberta harvest all but complete: crop report

Alberta’s crop harvest is virtually complete, but crop quality is a concern as the growing season comes to a close. The province’s agriculture department reported 99.4 per cent of Alberta’s major crops were combined as of Oct. 14, 3.1 points more than in the previous week, compared to the five-year average of 97 per cent and the 10-year average of 83 per cent.  The northwest region’s harvest was 100 per cent complete, while the central region was at 98.9 per cent.  All other regions were within one point of finishing operations. The harvests for all major crops were either completion or less than a point away from completion, except for canola at 98.5 per cent. Despite recent rain and snowfall in some areas, the added moisture wasn’t enough to improve fall-seeded crop quality province-wide. 

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service