Abbotsford dairy tops farm sales

The top farm property sale in BC last year was Lilac Ridge, a dairy farm at 940 Cole Road in Abbotsford.

The transaction was valued at $9 million, according to BC Assessment Authority, which released the 2020 assessment roll this month.

The top five farm property transactions in BC last year all took place in the Fraser Valley. The second most-expensive property sold was 7541 Newton Road in Maple Ridge at $8 million, followed by 4650 Glenmore Road in Abbotsford, a 73-acre dairy farm originally listed at $8.9 million but sold for $7.4 million.

The most expensive property sold in the Okanagan last year was 4710 Lakeshore Road in Kelowna, valued at $6.5 million. This was $20,000 more than BC Tree Fruits Co-operative paid for 3330 Old Vernon Road, a turf farm where it plans to consolidate its packing operations.

Brian Smith, a deputy assessor with BC Assessment specializing in farm properties, said the number of farm properties in the province have been stable over the past three years. Approximately applications for farm class status happen annually.

Agricultural properties are valued based on farm classification, rather than market value.

“The assessed values for farm properties are legislated based on meeting the farming income thresholds,” he said, noting that the overall value of farm properties in the province seldom changes values unless there is a change in the farming activity taking place on the property.

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1 week ago

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The Jura Ranch near Princeton sold for nearly $5.3 million on May 12, the largest online ranch sale in BC in months, according to CLHBid.com, which handled the sale. The buyer was not named. Formerly owned by Rob and Kelly Lamoureux, which developed the successful Jura Grassfed brand, the ranch includes 2,625 deeded acres and a grazing licence totalling 83,698 acres. Originally offered at $4.2 million, the competitive bidding process delivered a higher value than the current market would suggest. Farm Credit Canada’s latest farmland value survey pointed to 1.7% decline in BC last year, which observers have attributed to tight margins and uncertainties related to Crown tenure.

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I sure hope it remains as farm land rather than a wind or solar installation.

Great grassland

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Foreign land buyers hollow out Dunster

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DUNSTER – Purchases of swathes of farmland in the Robson Valley by wealthy American businessmen have some in BC demanding restrictions on foreign and corporate ownership of agricultural land.

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This is a serious issue in Dunster and one that has impacts for wildlife and human neighbours.

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