I was not surprised to see that Western Producer reporter Sean Pratt’s special report in the Feb. 26 edition prompted many comments on our website and social media channels last week.
Pratt’s special report, with the headline, Is it time to relax land ownership restrictions, examined the Saskatchewan Farm Land Security Board’s ruling that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is eligible to buy land in the province.
As I write this column, 15,000 people have seen the post on Facebook and some of them have left a comment on our page about the decision.
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Here is a comment by William Dodd:
“It’s the beginning of a system of absentee landlords renting to peasant farmers. Only way you should be able to own Saskatchewan farmland is if you’re a Saskatchewan resident or Saskatchewan farm corporation. Not a foreign or out of province corporation, or a trust fund, or an investment group.”
Dan Boon joined the conversation with this cautionary note:
“Dear Saskatchewan, if you want to see what happens when you sell to absentee owners, read ‘The Unsettling of America’ by Wendell Berry. Local communities lose. Absentee owners will exploit for maximum cash without care for local consequences. Look at middle America.”
Ron Rein said he has mixed feelings about the decision:
“As a farmer who needs to expand my farming operation, the relaxing of farmland ownership rules makes it more difficult for me to do so. But at the same time, it increases the value of the land that I already own.
One thing that I do worry about is the value of farmland exceeding the value of what can be produced on it. It would appear that land prices in some areas of Saskatchewan are being driven up by people from outside of the province who have no real idea of what it’s worth.”
Twitter was also busy with people commenting on the story, so I created a Your View story page called Farmland ownership rules where people could tweet their comments. Anyone who visits our website can read them.
Here are some of the tweets:
Travis Foot @Footprint74 — @Conga No No No!! Do they fill our small town schools or stores? Mostly managed by out of area personnel #keepruralrural
Rob Stone @rgstone1 — @CDNag as a farmer don’t care for it BUT how do you prevent Canadians owning land with their retirement fund. I’m open to correction…
Dallas Simmonds @raptorent — @CDNag absolutely they should be able to purchase land…. why should it be controlled who can own property?
Brent Edmonson @BrentEdmonson — @CDNag It’s a better alternative than selling farmland to the Chinese/Koreans for solar panel installation like they do around here. #ontag
Brian Archer @Elect_Brian — @CDNag @westernproducer There used to be 100K farms now 40K, institutional investors will drive that number even lower!
Gordon Moellenbeck @oldmangord — @CDNag No. Need more farmers not less for a vibrant farm sector. Doesn’t add to social fabric of rural sask. The start of feudalism again.
Dan Flynn @DJFholdings — @CDNag I believe any private citizen or business has the right to own farmland but govt has no place competing with the private sector.
Double M Farm Team @Highway21Group — @CDNag @westernproducer They buy it, but who farms it? Pensioned farmers? Board of directors?
Dale Burnay @DaleBurnay —@CDNag @westernproducer @PremierBradWall intervened in potash, why not stand up for farmers & rural communities?
I built a poll on the Your View story page that asked this question: “Should the CPP Investment Board be allowed to purchase Saskatchewan farmland?
Sixty-six percent of the slightly more than 60 people who took the poll said no and 34 percent said yes.
