Nailing down an ‘average’ value for pastureland can be difficult because some pastures are desirable and some are not
WINNIPEG — A recent report from Farm Credit Canada suggests that pastureland in Manitoba is valued at $500 to $700 per acre, on average.
Those estimates seem low to Ben Hamm, farm management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.
Hamm, who raises cattle in southeastern Manitoba, said land prices in his region are much higher than $500 per acre.
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“In the southeast, pasture acres are going anywhere from $500 to $3,000 an acre. There is an extreme range.”
It’s difficult to nail down an “average” value for pastureland because some pastures are desirable and some are not, he said.
It depends on the productivity of the pasture and many other variables.
“There is such a variance on quality. Is it marshland … is it fenced? What kind of water quality is there?” he said.
However, it seems unlikely that Manitoba pastureland is selling for $500 per acre on average, Hamm said.
“Is $500 the number? I absolutely don’t think so. We used to have those numbers back 20 years ago.”
FCC’s recently released Farmland Values report for 2023 contains estimates of cropland and pastureland in every province and territory.
The pasture values for Manitoba stand out because they’re significantly lower than Saskatchewan:
- FCC says the average value in east-central Saskatchewan is $900 per acre, while in Manitoba’s Parkland, just across the border, the value is $500 per acre.
- In southwestern Manitoba, the average pasture is $700, while in southeastern Saskatchewan, it is $1,100 an acre.
The discrepancy could be related to “average” versus “range” of prices.
Chris Prejet, an appraiser with FCC, agreed that there’s a large range in pasture values. It’s no different than cropland, where a half section could sell for $8,000 an acre and a similar piece of land 100 kilometres away will sell for $5,500.
“It’s a big range, differing types of pasture and quality of pasture,” he said. “The (price) range is probably a bit more important (than the average) in this case.”
Nonetheless, the range of pastureland values in Saskatchewan seem higher than Manitoba.
FCC pegs the price range in southeastern Saskatchewan at $500 to $1,700.
In western Manitoba, the range is $500 to $1,200
To generate its report on farmland values, FCC looks at a set of “benchmark” properties and then re-values that land each year.
It also studies sales records for a particular year.
“That information is all from the provincial assessments,” he said.
“You can get an account there, do some sales research and pull the information you need from that website…. That’s how we go about getting our sales data.”
Having good information on pasture values is important right now because cattle prices are through the roof, Hamm said.
Given the profitability of raising cattle, landowners with pastureland are wondering how much to charge for rent.
“I get the question every single year, what is pasture rent worth?”
