Farming is a business – big business ! The total capital value of Ontario farm assets in 2001 was $ 50.5 billion. The value of the average Ontario farm is approaching $ 900,000. The cash receipts in 2001 from Ontario farming operations totalled approximately $ 8.5 billion. Huron County (where I come from), generates as much farm revenue in one year as the total annual farm revenue in each of the Maritime Provinces. One in seven jobs in Canada is in the agri-food sector.
Think of the purchase and sale of farms in much the same way that you would treat the purchase and sale of other commercial property and businesses. Some farm purchases involve land only. Others involve a variety of assets. In this paper, I have tried to touch on most of the issues that arise in the purchase and sale of farms. Some of the areas that I cover also pertain to rural, non-farm land.