ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER INDUSTRY NEWS 27 Disease out. Game on. Always read and follow label directions. AgSolutions and SPHAEREX are registered trademarks of BASF, used under license by BASF Canada Inc. SPHAEREX fungicide should be used in a preventative disease control program. © 2025 BASF Canada Inc. Enjoy more flexibility with your time, thanks to a wider window of application. Publication: Ontario Grain Farmer - Feb 24 Page Position: 1/2PHor4C Live Area: 7.125 x 4.875” CMYK BW STUDIO ART ART DIR DESIREE V2 KEN Client: BASF CAN File Name: Sphaerex_EAST_Print Ad_OGF_v2 Project Name: Sphearex_EAST_Print Ads AORC61600221_Sphaerex_EAST_Print Ad_OGF_v2.indd 1 2024-12-09 3:50 PM provide a good picture of what the land market in a given area will look like as affected by development. Being aware of land use planning is even more important as local authorities now have the ability to submit requests for settlement area expansion to the province at any time—something which used to happen at intervals of five or ten years. “You don’t need to be intimately involved in your local council meetings or minutes, but having an understanding of what major exercises are happening in your neighbourhood is going to help inform your potential decisions in the future,” says Crinklaw, later reiterating changes to Land Needs Assessments may mean “someone’s need is for your land.” OTHER TRENDS Parker highlights investor groups as another pool of buyers, though one which tends to be active in specific areas. From what Parker is “hearing through the grapevine,” he suspects investor groups will be more active in 2025 compared to 2024. Local contractors and investors, rather than large investment firms, are yet another pool—but again, they have largely localized influence on land values. Somewhere around 90 per cent of all farmland purchases are still made by farmers themselves, although such farmers are increasingly likely to already hold a lot of land. “The small property—that 50 acres with 20 workable—that used to be available to the small cash cropper, the small dairy, almost became totally unavailable because it became so expensive,” says Parker. “By and large, the land game is [those] with significant amounts of land holdings that can use that equity. We always say equity. They’re using that existing cash flow to cash flow that thing for the next 25 years, to make the payments by buying that next piece.” Crinklaw adds, “quality still matters.” Despite the noise, farmland value is driven primarily by expectations of the future earning power of the land. He sees more farmers “doing more with what they have,” whether through land improvements such as better tile drainage—the resultant increase in crop returns from doing so being a better incometo-cost ratio than purchasing more land—or finding multifunctionality uses through agritourism, environmental goods and services, energy production, and other means of investing in what he calls “agricultureplus” business models. • Read Valco’s 2024 Southwestern Ontario Land Values report.
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