Reading Time: 3 minutes Many young farmers dream of buying a farm. The question is: How can you turn that dream into reality? The answer to that question raises more questions. Because there are several important considerations to think through very carefully before making that leap. To start your farm-buying path off on the right foot, let’s look at […] Read more
Buying your first farm
Buying your first farm is a big deal, in more ways than one. Here are key factors to consider before signing on the dotted line
Summer Series: In search of bargain farmland
[Land] Are there still any great deals on Canadian farmland? Where are they, and what’s the catch?
Reading Time: 12 minutes On the surface, the news isn’t great for farmers looking to expand. Everywhere you look, it’s a seller’s market. The law of supply-demand is working against you, with multiple bidders on practically every property. Technology seems like it’s against you too. Check out our accompanying story “New ways to buy and sell farmland”. The days […] Read more
Summer Series: Win from the sidelines
[Land] The spike in farmland prices has boosted the equity of farmers all across Canada. We ask McGill economist Pascal Theriault, is this a historic opportunity?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Are farmers leveraging their new-found equity to generate new business opportunities or farm wealth? To explore what farmland values mean for farms and farming across Canada, Country Guide sat down with Pascal Thériault, agricultural economist at Macdonald Campus, McGill University and vice-president of Quebec’s Ordre des agronomes. Country Guide (CG): The specifics vary across the […] Read more
Choosing Canada
For these new immigrants, there’s no going back. Their future is here
Reading Time: 4 minutes It isn’t just the government red tape and the inevitable mountain of paperwork that comes with it that has driven some European farmers to Canada. It’s also the public’s negative perception of farmers and how it is fueling a lot of the regulations, especially around manure management, fertilizer use and animal welfare. “There is no […] Read more
The immigrant farm
Is another wave of foreign farmers headed for Canada?
Reading Time: 5 minutes [UPDATED: Nov. 21, 2023] Even into the early 2000s, Canadian real estate agents were doing impressive business flying cash-rich and expansion-minded European farmers west across the Atlantic to buy turnkey farms here at prices far cheaper than they could ever find at home. That was then. Today, the flow has slowed to a trickle, not […] Read more
Do you have an exit strategy for your farm?
For whatever reason, if your farm isn’t going to get transferred to your family’s next generation, these are big questions you need to get started on
Reading Time: 7 minutes In many cases, Canadian farms are being transferred to the next generation. But that’s “many,” not “all.” And if you’re in a situation where transition is unclear, or if you know your final plan will be to sell out, it’s time to get thinking about your options for building a farm exit plan. What does […] Read more
‘No looking back’ for online auctions
Online auctions are reshaping the business of how land and equipment are sold
Reading Time: 7 minutes When the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world in March 2020, the auction business changed too. The global lockdown affected every business — including farm and equipment auctions — and has since shaped the way auctions have, and will continue to be conducted. To accommodate the traditional busy auction season, many farm auctions made the move […] Read more
Selling the farm
It’s the biggest decision of your life. More than ever, it takes planning, skilled advisors … and a resilient mindset
Reading Time: 8 minutes You only sell the farm once. Obviously, you don’t get to this point lightly. So, what is your first step? Do you sell the whole farm, or go piecemeal? How can you be sure you get the market price? Will you get nailed for taxes? You’ve spent a lifetime — and there’s a good chance […] Read more
New ways to buy and sell farmland
These options are putting a lot more power in the hands of sellers. They’re also changing how the real estate industry works
Reading Time: 7 minutes Today, farmers don’t buy land with a handshake over the fence, as Grandpa and Grandma, or even Dad and Mom might have done. Selling methods like sealed tenders and online auctions are becoming ever more prevalent, and the key is finding which one best fits the size, type and circumstance of the farming operation. “There […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
