Canadian farmland represents an estimated $816 billion market, with annual transaction volumes ranging between $20 and $43 billion, or approximately 3.5 to 7 million acres.
In this paper, Omnigence applies four independent methodologies to assess liquidity: regional weighted market capitalization, Farm Credit Canada mortgage origination patterns, farm transition demographics, and long-term consolidation trends. Across approaches, turnover estimates converge around a base case of $20–25 billion annually, providing confidence in the underlying liquidity profile of the asset class.
While farmland transactions occur through decentralized networks and bilateral negotiations rather than centralized exchanges, activity has historically remained stable across public market dislocations and credit cycles. Approximately 60–75% of transactions occur through private or intergenerational transfers, extending effective liquidity beyond visible listings.
Applying a conventional institutional liquidity benchmark, current market turnover suggests capacity for a single farmland strategy approaching $10 billion in AUM while maintaining prudent market participation parameters, particularly when capital deployment is diversified across provinces and parcel sizes.
For allocators evaluating farmland exposure, liquidity characteristics indicate the potential to support meaningful institutional scale while preserving portfolio flexibility. View Full Report