Land rents?

[cowman]

I am often amazed at how low prices are in Saskatchewan? A few farmers from this area are moving to Saskatchewan to take advantage of cheap land that they can expand on...it is impossible here.
I am also amazed at the cheap prices for hay in Saskatchewan? I would think the cow herd should be growing by leaps and bounds but apparently that is not the case...stats say the Sask. herd actually shrunk last year.
I would think Saskatchewan could still be a place a young man could go if he wanted to farm?
I live about three miles from the Calgary-Edmonton corrider and land prices are so out of line with what can be produced it is ridiculous! But in a way it is the best of both worlds? Very close to a large urban center with all the goodies, yet still fairly rural, but getting more city "escapees" every year! Lots of oil and gas activity.

[SASKFARMER3]

One big mistake foreigners and Albertans make when they buy in Saskatchewan is land fever. You sell 5 in Alberta and move out here and buy 20 but you bring all your equipment for five. The season is different for seeding every year. Spring may not start one year till 15 of may the next its April 20th. It may rain from the may long weekend till July 1st. It can freeze as we learnt lately the 1st week of August. It can snow the last week of September and then take all of October to leave and you have a day or two to harvest the whole farm. I guess what I am saying its tough to grow a crop here but with Large equipment and when the sun shines make hay one can carve out a good return. It is different. Then their is the Saskatchewan Government that will Screw you any way they can. One year their in CASIP etc. the next their not. Sask Crop insurance look at and you will see is the worst coverage of all the provinces. And then theirs attitude that if your doing good you must be screwing some one to get their.
But with all this it is a hell of a deal. Fresh water lakes to camp at or fish, More Golf courses than any where in the country, Skidoo trails to make any die hard wet. And finally peaceful. SO COME ON OVER!

[cowman]

Saskfarmer:About five years ago a group from Churchbridge put on a seminar at Red Deer Alberta called "The Last Great Cattle Frontier"? The idea was to entice Alberta cattle producers to the area(east central Sask.)?
Anyway it was a very good presentation, and though I had no desire to move I did decide to go out and have a look. I found the area very favorable to cattle production,lots of brush,potholes, rolling hills, very much like central Alberta. The people were totally friendly.
The one thing that kind of was a turnoff was the lack of infrastructure for selling calves? Practically no feedlots, auction marts, packing houses?
Yorkton was a fairly impressive small city with all the amenities, however I was amazed by how many of the business buildings were "Saskatchewan Government" and also amazed how they seemed to roll up the sidewalks at 5PM!
On the way home we went through the Queapelle valley and through Regina? I found the valley very beautiful and Regina a very clean and prosperous city! I actually really enjoyed that trip.

[SASKFARMER3]

Yorkton has changed and it has just about every thing a major city has to offer. People are freindly etc. But yes Packing plants etc and no feedlots are a problem. On the Oil seed side three huge crushing plants within 60 miles of yorkton in less than a year.

[IAMTHEMOLE]

What I can't figure Saskfarmer is with all this rain and snow you guys are getting all the time why aren't your average yields higher. Is it because there is a lack of large of modern equipment out there. Or are there huge dry areas as well . I don't care when the moisture comes in dryland country just as long as you get it. Bring on the rain, sleet , snow.

[SASKFARMER3]

This is public forum trust me the yields we achieve are higher and every single neighbor is into direct seeding and GPS and now mapping with on the go Fert placement. Air drills started in this area. FROST IS A KILLER

[poorboy]

SaskFarmer,
Which part of the province are you from? I had assumed it was the SE because of the close proximity to the US border and yields that seem to be much higher than the SW corner.

Where do all the large farms find the help for harvest and seeding? Here in Alberta, labor costs and shortages are going to be the biggest thing limiting expansion of farms. It is easy to seed large tracts of land with 60-80 foot drills, but combines only harvest so much in a day unless you are using custom cutters.
The price you are talking about for 40 bushel canola ground is unheard of here either for the purchase price or the rental. I do understand the cash flow and equity loss that must have occured in the frost years!

[SASKFARMER3]

East of Regina, Black soil zone, Have US relatives and friends. Big Equipment and work like a fool. Bad years of 02 03 04 hurt bad most are sick of situation thats why lower land values. Also last go round of high prices also hurt.

[cowman]

Over on the rural issues site dalek posted that corn acres in Ontario are being bid up to $300/acre yearly rent!

[kamichel]

20 to just over 30 dollars per acre in my area of Central Sask. Still some crop share deals around of 1/3 or 1/4 with some openness there as am thinking the proper share is not really being paid in some cases. I have decided to continue renting same price for some land that I previously asked for rent reduction. And Am thinking to offer a little more rent to another that was on the low end if he agrees to extend the rent a couple extra years. There was a time here when 40 dollars plus per acre for medium land was the norm. Still the landlords should be considered lucky to have a renter, some are farming simply because no offers. Not that the land is worthless, on the contrary some money can be made if one can get the work done. We did go through a few tuff years here. Wet spring, generally 25 percent of fields unseaded , that is not entire fields but forever turning and finishing up triangles. Then digging ruts up the entire length of fields to get them sprayed. The old IH pick up just did not agree with them ruts come harvest. Also the 6 incher last year made things tuff again. Then the year before we had frost , canola seed was white not black. I am looking forward to this year but I have much well deserved caution if I were faced with having to offer more for rent. The wife would like me to make some money.

[ado089]

Furrowtickler, I'll take all the $20-25/ac land you can find within 20 miles of Battleford.