The value of Canadian farms slowed last year, something that economists warn could continue.
A new report from Farm Credit Canada says low interest rates and a strong crop income helped increase the average price of farm land in 2015 by 10.1 per cent.
However, the rate was less than in the previous two years when the average price increased 14.3 per cent in 2014 and 22.1 per cent in 2013.
The report says that farmers could face a continuing softening of the market due to increased volatility caused by lower crop prices.
Farm Credit Canada’s chief economist, J. P. Gervais, says that could lead to value gains of only two to four per cent.
He says farmers didn’t feel the full effects of lower commodity prices last year because of the significant drop in the Canadian dollar.
Last year’s gains are part of a continuous upward trend that began in 1993.
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