Alberta farmland values increased an average of 12.9% in 2013, following gains of 13.3% in 2012 and 8.7% in 2011. Much of this increase occurred in the first half of the year. Values have continued to rise in the province since 1993. The strong agricultural commodity prices in the first half of the year along with increased oilfield activity spurred confidence in the economy. Land prices either increased or remained steady throughout most of the province. Location and availability were the main price drivers. Competition for land caused prices to increase along the Highway 2 corridor, particularly for agricultural holdings. This reflected continued optimism in agriculture. Southern Alberta continued to see high demand for irrigated land from specialty crop producers looking to secure contracts and traditional crop producers seeking irrigated land for production. Demand from producers looking to expand their land bases to increase efficiencies also drove up farmland values
Source: https://www.fcc-fac.ca/fcc/about-fcc/corporate-profile/reports/farmland-values/farmland-values-report-2013.pdf