P.E.I. farmland prices almost double in 5 years
CBC
P.E.I. farmers are getting priced out of the market for new land, say farm groups, and poor enforcement of the Lands Protection Act may be part of the problem.
From 2018 to 2023 prices for farmland on P.E.I. rose 83 per cent, according to a report released by Statistics Canada late last month. It was the fastest increase in prices in the country.
At $6,432 per acre in 2023, prices were 30 per cent higher than the national average.
"It's difficult to invest, difficult to grow, especially for younger farmers," said Travis Cummiskey, youth district director on P.E.I. for the National Farmers Union.
With higher prices to purchase land have come higher prices to rent it, Cummiskey said. Fields that might have been rented for $50 an acre a decade ago might now cost $100 or more, he said.
Younger farmers in particular may have a desire to cultivate more land, he said. As children grow older and take more of a role in farm operations, parents may look to expand their operations to increase revenues so the new generation can get paid.
"We are pricing our next generation of Island farmers out of the industry," said Donald Killorn, executive director of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture.
"We have to take steps as a province to ensure access for that next generation so that we continue to have an Island-owned agriculture industry."
Many factors are working together to bring up land prices. Some of these are out of provincial government control.
"It extends beyond our province to across the country, across North America, around the world," Killorn said.
"Farmland has become an increasingly scarce asset. Institutions, governments, wealthy individuals have identified it as a very solid investment."
Other provinces have seen companies whose main business is farmland investment buying up acreage.
That does not appear to be happening on P.E.I. yet, but Cummiskey said there have been individuals casting their eye toward the Island.
While farmland in Prince Edward Island is priced well above the national average, it is still far below the value in Ontario, where the average price is close to $20,000.
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