Saskatchewan Farm Listings Just Hit a 5-Year High. Before You Sign, Read How Some Families Made the Farm Worth Keeping
Sally Ciepliski asked the question every small Prairie farm family whispers at the kitchen table: "who can make a go of farming these days with just two quarter sections?"
Her family's answer was not to sell. In 2000 they planted five acres of saskatoon berries on their southeast Saskatchewan land, doubled it to ten acres in 2003, and opened the gate to u-pick visitors. They went on to sell jams, jellies, pies and buns made in the farm's own kitchen, and the next generation, son Aaron and his wife Melanie, became part of the management team.
So should you sell? Not before you test one idea: a farm that also earns from visitors gives your son, daughter, niece or nephew a paying job to step into. That is often what keeps a farm in the family.
The Short Answer: Saskatchewan has 317 farms listed for sale, the most in five years, and brokers say aging owners without a successor are a big reason. With land values still rising, selling looks tempting. But often the real reason a farm is sold is that the next generation sees no living in it. A proposed federal change (from January 1, 2027) would let farm property roll over to nieces and nephews with tax deferred. Pair that with visitor income, such as a farm store, u-pick, events or a farm stay, and you may have a farm someone actually wants to take over. |
The News: 317 Saskatchewan Farms for Sale
On November 9, 2026, REM (Real Estate Magazine) reported that Saskatchewan farm listings hit a five-year high. The numbers come from REMAX Canada's fall 2026 commercial real estate report, which drew on MLS data and local farmland brokers.
Year | Saskatchewan farms listed for sale |
|---|---|
2022 | 208 |
2025 | 286 |
2026 | 317 |
Jeff Chapple, a REMAX broker-owner in Esterhazy, was blunt. Aging farmers and weak succession planning are pushing land onto the market, and many children have moved away. Some older owners, he said, still "think their 50-year-old kids are going to come home and farm."
Not all of it is succession: the court-supervised sale of Monette Farms land also added inventory.
Yet prices have not crashed. The median price for Saskatchewan farms of 80 acres or more hit $2,612 an acre in the 12 months to September, up about 11% in a year and more than 58% since 2022. Farm Credit Canada says Saskatchewan farmland values rose 2.6% in the first half of 2026 and 6.7% in the 12 months to June.
The REMAX report names generational turnover as a factor that could bring more land to market, though REM notes the timing and volume remain uncertain. That is a possibility, not a promise. But if you are tired, aging and alone on the place, high prices plus no successor is a powerful push to sign.
Why Farms Really Get Sold: Nobody Sees a Living in Them
In Canada's 2021 Census of Agriculture, 60.5% of farm operators were 55 or older, and the average age was 56.0. In Saskatchewan the average was 55.8. Only 12.0% of Canadian farms reported a succession plan. Saskatchewan led the country, and still only 14.1% of its farms reported one.
RBC's 2023 "Farmers Wanted" report projected that 40% of Canadian farm operators will retire by 2033, and found that 66% of producers had no succession plan in place.
Ask the hard question. Why would a 30-year-old come home to a farm that pays one cheque a year, carries heavy debt and can't afford a second salary? South of the border, US farm debt is estimated at a record high, and the farmers climbing out are selling experiences, not more bushels.
That is where many succession plans stall, not on the paperwork. Our farm succession planning guide walks through building the plan itself. But a plan only works if there is a business worth taking over.
The New Rule: Nieces and Nephews Could Now Count (Proposed)
In Budget 2026, tabled November 5, 2026, Ottawa proposed to expand the intergenerational farm and fishing property rollover. Today, that rollover lets you pass certain farm property to a child, grandchild or great-grandchild (or that child's spouse) with the capital gains tax deferred. The proposal adds nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, yours or your spouse's, for transfers on or after January 1, 2027.
On November 10, CTV News Regina reported that the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) welcomed the change. APAS president Bill Prybylski told SwiftCurrentOnline that extended relatives, such as cousins, often play major roles on family farms. APAS still wants stepchildren included.
Jason Claeys farms near Deloraine, Manitoba, with his father, and his nephew Tyler Didyk wants to farm too. Claeys told CBC the change is "going to hopefully make transitioning a little bit easier."
Derryn Shrosbree of Farmstrong Financial, which helps families with intergenerational farm transfers and campaigned for the change, estimates 3,000 to 5,000 farm operators could be directly affected.
Reality Check: This is a budget proposal, not law. Details can change before Parliament passes it. And a tax deferral is not a paycheque. It helps land change hands. It does not make the farm pay your niece a wage. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. |
Questions to ask your accountant and lawyer before you list:
Does my land and equipment qualify as "farm property" for the rollover?
If I wait until after January 1, 2027, could a niece or nephew qualify, and what if the rules change?
How do the rollover, the lifetime capital gains exemption and a capital gains reserve work together for my family?
What happens to my retirement income if I transfer instead of sell?
How do we treat the siblings who don't farm fairly?
That last one splits more families than tax does. Read when siblings inherit the family farm before the meeting, and use our script for the farm succession conversation.
How Real Families Made the Farm Worth Keeping
None of these families waited for a tax change. They built income that gave the next generation a reason to stay.
Edgar Farms, Innisfail, Alberta. Doug and Elna Edgar planted asparagus in the 1980s partly so their two daughters could earn money while in school. That grew into a market garden, a commercial kitchen, a Country Store, school tours and an asparagus festival. By 2010, daughter Keri and her husband Randy Graham, with their children, were working full time in the business. By 2021 the farm grew about 50 acres of asparagus.
The Saskatoon Farm, near Okotoks, Alberta. Paul and Karen Hamer started in 1987 with saskatoon berries. They added u-pick, a nursery, greenhouses, a restaurant seating over 100, weddings and a Christmas market. In 2023, Greenhouse Canada reported 1,000+ visitors a day from May to October. Son Seann is a second-generation horticulturist and the family's numbers man. His siblings Austin and Johanna live on the farm too and work there.
McNab's Corn Maze, Yellow Point, British Columbia. Archie and Barbara McNab bought about 140 acres in 1960. In 1998, a 12-year-old in the family, Adam, and his friend started growing sweet corn, and in 2002 the family planted its first corn maze. Over time all six McNab children returned to the farm. With their mother's passing in 2011, the farm says, the next generation "inherited the opportunity." Today the family reports planting over 15,000 pumpkin plants in a year, beside a 7-acre maze.
Field-Tested Play: Copy the Edgar move. Give the next generation one small visitor enterprise to run: a u-pick patch, a weekend farm stand or a fall tour. Let them keep a share of the profit. Nothing builds a successor faster than a business with their name on it. Even farm kids can run tours. |
What a Visitor-Income Farm Looks Like for a Successor
Picture your farm through your nephew's eyes. A grain farm offers him a tractor seat and a thin margin. A farm with visitors offers him a job title.
What those layers can look like on a Prairie farm:
Farm store manager. Jams, baking, beef, berries. See how the Ciepliskis and Edgars did it.
Tour and events lead. A farm tour business, school trips, a fall festival.
Farm stay host. Near Rosetown, Alive Sky Lodge turned a grain bin into a luxury suite, and in 2019 its rooms rented for $109 to $140 a night (double occupancy, breakfast included). April Anderson's daughter, Dana Riley, an agronomist, greets guests and explains farming. "We want to be open about sharing our story," she told The Western Producer. Our guide on how to start a farm stay shows the setup costs.
Marketer. Building the email or WhatsApp list that brings buyers back every season.
Start small with your first $1,000 from visitors. Canada is also drawing a Saskatoon-to-Winnipeg farm trail that could send visitors your way.
Reality Check: Visitors bring rules. Check your rural municipality's zoning and tax treatment first. Alive Sky Lodge got a $4,800 RM tax bill, which the owners appealed. Talk to your insurer before the first guest arrives. |
Sell vs Keep and Diversify: The Honest Comparison
Sell now | Keep and add visitor income | |
|---|---|---|
Cash | One lump sum at today's high price | Land stays; new income builds over seasons |
Tax | Capital gains may apply (ask your accountant) | Rollover may defer tax for family (proposed for nieces and nephews) |
Next generation | Farm leaves the family for good | A paid role they can grow into |
Your retirement | Depends on what's left after tax and debt | Can include lighter work, rent or a share of profit |
Risk | Market timing | Start-up costs, insurance, zoning, hard work |
If no one in the family wants the farm, selling at a strong price can be wise. Just don't sell only because nobody has seen it pay yet. If you're past 60, read how older farmers earn from visitors instead of muscle.
A Durian Farm Half a World Away
I'm Stephen Loke, founder of Bloopy Durians in Bentong, Malaysia, which we started slightly after covid. Durian season lasts only about four to five months a year, so a fruit-only farm is a hard business to hand on. Our 1.5-hour farm tour, with a 4WD ride, planting a durian tree and tasting, draws visitors from all over the world, from America, Canada and the UK to Japan, Germany and Australia, and many companies send their staff and management. Guests join our Farm WhatsApp group and buy durians every season, which gives us reliable income. Visitor income is what turns a short-season farm into a business someone could take over.
Your 5-Step Plan Before You Sign
Field-Tested Play: No. 1: Ask every possible successor, including nieces and nephews, one question: "Would you run this if it paid you?" No. 2: List what your farm already has that visitors would pay for: berries, animals, a yard, an old barn, a view. No. 3: Test one small visitor enterprise next season before any big build. No. 4: Book a meeting with your accountant and lawyer about the proposed rollover and the January 1, 2027 date. No. 5: Write the plan down. Only about one Saskatchewan farm in seven reported a succession plan in 2021. |
For more inspiration, see these young farmers' success stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are so many Saskatchewan farms for sale in 2026?
REMAX counted 317 farm listings, up from 286 a year earlier and 208 in 2022. Brokers point to aging owners and weak succession planning, plus the court-supervised sale of Monette Farms land.
Are Saskatchewan farmland prices falling?
Not so far. Farm Credit Canada says values rose 6.7% year over year to June 2026. One Regina broker thinks the higher inventory could ease prices a little, but that is a forecast.
Can I now transfer my farm to my niece or nephew tax-deferred?
Not yet. Budget 2026 proposed adding nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews to the farm rollover for transfers on or after January 1, 2027. It must pass Parliament first. Ask a qualified accountant and lawyer about your situation.
Can agritourism really keep a farm in the family?
It's no guarantee. But families like the Edgars in Alberta and the McNabs in British Columbia built farm stores and corn mazes, and their next generation came into the business.
What visitor income suits a Prairie grain or cattle farm?
Farm stays, tours, fall events, a farm store and u-pick berries are common starting points. Short seasons are normal; plan around them.
Find Out If Your Farm Could Earn From Visitors
The free Farm Readiness Quiz takes a few minutes. It shows which visitor income fits your land, your time and your family, and what to fix first.
Want a plan built around your own farm and successor? Book a one-on-one online consultation (US$150 an hour). You'll leave with a clear plan for which visitor income fits your farm and family, and where to start.
Prefer to start reading tonight? The free ebook gives you 150 ways to earn more from the land, buildings and skills you already have.
P.S. Sally Ciepliski asked who could make a go of it on two quarter sections. Her family answered with saskatoon berries and visitors, and the next generation stayed. Before you sign a listing agreement, give your farm the same chance.
Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Talk to a qualified accountant and lawyer in your province before you sell, transfer or restructure your farm.
Sources
REM (Real Estate Magazine), "Saskatchewan farmland listings hit 5-year high, but prices keep climbing. What's driving the market?" Courtney Zwicker, Nov 9, 2026: https://realestatemagazine.ca/saskatchewan-farmland-listings-hit-five-year-high-but-prices-keep-climbing-whats-driving-the-market
REMAX Canada, "Saskatoon Commercial Real Estate Fall 2026 Market Update," Oct 27, 2026: https://blog.remax.ca/saskatoon-commercial-real-estate-report
Farm Credit Canada, "2026 Farmland Values Mid-Year Update," Oct 7, 2026: https://www.fcc-fac.ca/en/knowledge/economics/2026-farmland-values-mid-year-update
Government of Canada, Budget 2026, "Tax Measures: Supplementary Information" (Expansion of the Intergenerational Farm and Fishing Property Rollover), Nov 5, 2026: https://budget.canada.ca/2026/report-rapport/tm-mf-en.html
CTV News Regina, "Sask. producers applaud Ottawa's expansion of intergenerational farm transfer tax deferral rules," Nov 10, 2026: https://www.ctvnews.ca/regina/article/sask-producers-applaud-ottawas-expansion-of-intergenerational-farm-transfer-tax-deferral-rules/
SwiftCurrentOnline, "APAS: Federal Budget delivers encouraging signs for Agriculture," Nov 10, 2026: https://www.swiftcurrentonline.com/articles/apas-federal-budget-delivers-encouraging-signs-for-agriculture
CBC News via Yahoo News Canada, "Farmers pleased with federal budget's proposed changes allowing land to be given to nieces, nephews tax-free," Nov 7, 2026: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/farmers-pleased-federal-budgets-proposed-110000977.html
Alberta Beef Producers, "Federal Budget 2026 includes changes to farm succession and capital investment rules," Nov 6, 2026: https://abpdaily.com/news/federal-budget-2026-includes-changes-to-farm-succession-and-capital-investment-rules/
Statistics Canada, The Daily, "Canada's 2021 Census of Agriculture: A story about the transformation of the agriculture industry and adaptiveness of Canadian farmers," May 11, 2022: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220511/dq220511a-eng.htm
Statistics Canada, Canadian Agriculture at a Glance, "Saskatchewan continues to live up to the title of breadbasket of Canada" (2021 Census of Agriculture), June 15, 2022: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/96-325-x/2021001/article/00008-eng.htm
RBC Thought Leadership, "Farmers Wanted: The labour renewal Canada needs to build the Next Green Revolution," Apr 2, 2023: https://www.rbc.com/en/thought-leadership/agriculture/farmers-wanted-the-labour-renewal-canada-needs-to-build-the-next-green-revolution/
SaskToday, "Saskatoon berries now dominate this proud family farm": https://www.sasktoday.ca/south/in-the-community/saskatoon-berries-now-dominate-this-proud-family-farm-4095654
Red Deer Advocate, "Family's passion bears fruit," Feb 24, 2010: https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/business/familys-passion-bears-fruit/
Tourism Red Deer, "Tourism Talk Tuesday with Edgar Farms," Nov 18, 2021: https://visitreddeer.com/tourism-talk-tuesday-with-edgar-farms/
Greenhouse Canada, "This farm's no secret to 1,000+ visitors a day," John Dietz, Nov 13, 2023: https://www.greenhousecanada.com/this-farms-no-secret-to-1000-visitors-a-day/
McNab's Corn Maze & Produce Farm, "About the Farm" (accessed Nov 2026): https://mcnabscornmaze.com/about
The Western Producer, "Bed and breakfast sets up shop in grain bin," Sean Pratt, July 11, 2019: https://www.producer.com/?p=216061
Comments