The value of farmland that changed hands in Quebec during 2007 has risen seven per cent to $5,400 per hectare, according to a new report on land values from the provincial ag lending agency.
The report, released Monday by La Financiere agricole and Quebec City-based ag think tank Groupe Ageco, said the value of land sold has come back up to its historic peak of 2002.
As for the average per-hectare value of farmland, that rose three per cent in 2007 to just over $6,350, a doubling of value from 1996 levels, FAQ wrote in a release Monday.
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Farmland in Quebec is following the North American trend, said FAQ president Jacques Brind’Amour in the agency’s release, noting that the prices of cereal grains, corn and oilseeds will be the factors to watch in the coming year to gauge where land prices will go.
Groupe Ageco president Michel Morisset concurred, saying in FAQ’s release that the rise in grain and oilseed prices, following from the increased consumption by emerging economies, strong demand from the biofuel sector and speculation in futures markets, has in turn exerted upward pressure on land prices.
Groupe Ageco and FAQ have co-published an annual review of Quebec farmland values for the past four years.
