Real estate apps are already big business in residential markets. If they cut transaction costs, why not in agriculture too?
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U.S. Lawmakers seek to limit corporate, foreign ownership of farmland

Farm groups, lawmakers are concerned that foreign, investor ownership is driving up prices and threatening national security

Washington | Reuters – U.S. lawmakers from both parties are pushing legislation that would limit who can own American farmland, with a latest effort from Democratic Senator Cory Booker aimed at curbing corporate ownership. Farm groups and lawmakers are concerned that land buys by investors and foreign countries are driving up farmland prices and threatening […] Read more


Urban development and farmland at Stratford, Ontario. Land use policy needs to prioritize agriculture, says Wayne Caldwell, professor of rural planning and development at the University of Guelph. Photo: SkyF/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Protecting farmland through rural land planning

Thoughtful municipal land use policy, producer involvement needed to save agricultural land from urban development

With 20,000 to 25,000 hectares of Canada’s agricultural land lost annually to urban development, rural land planning that prioritizes agriculture is a necessity, says one expert. “Protecting farmland is also about protecting the farmer, and through that process, we end up protecting food and food production capacity as well,” says Wayne Caldwell, professor of rural […] Read more

File photo of a rye field in Kazakhstan. (Stsmhn/iStock/Getty Images)

Kazakhstan’s president orders ban on foreign ownership of farmland

Almaty | Reuters — Kazakhstan will permanently ban foreigners from owning or renting farmland in the vast central Asian nation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Thursday, ending a lengthy dispute that once prompted anti-government protests. Kazakhstan is a major producer of grains, oilseeds and meat in the former Soviet region sandwiched between China and Russia […] Read more


Tighter regulations take effect for B.C. farmland reserve

Tighter regulations take effect for B.C. farmland reserve

Local governments' expanded role to take effect this fall

New regulations governing how — or if — changes can be made to land’s status within British Columbia’s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) are now in force, but local governments get more prep time for their expanded role. The province on Thursday announced amendments to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) Act — having received royal assent […] Read more

Zimbabwe to give white farmers 99-year leases

Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe will issue 99-year leases to white farmers, according to a government circular, after new President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he would end discrimination along racial lines in agriculture. Fewer than 400 white farmers are still operating in the southern African nation, after former president Robert Mugabe’s government evicted more than 4,000 […] Read more


The Verkhovna Rada building, home to Ukraine’s parliament, in Kiev. (Cia.gov)

Ukraine’s parliament extends ban on farmland sales

Kiev | Reuters — The Ukrainian parliament voted on Thursday to extend a ban on the sale of agricultural land by one year, delaying what financial backers say is a key reform essential to Ukraine’s long-term economic growth. The bill was backed by 236 lawmakers, narrowly over the 226 required to pass. Currently Ukraine’s more […] Read more

Dr. Edward Bork, 
Mattheis Chair, 
Rangeland Ecology.

The case for carbon storage

Alberta grasslands study to help develop policies

Good-news stories for beef producers are beginning to flow out from a massive dataset collected during a three-year carbon benchmarking study done to evaluate the effects of long-term grazing on native grasslands of Alberta. Some of the findings won’t surprise beef producers who see the positive effects first hand, but this is the first time […] Read more


Australian countryside near Bendigo, northwest of Melbourne. (CIA.gov)

Australia tightens rules over foreign buying of farmland

Sydney | Reuters –– Australia tightened rules on Wednesday over foreign ownership of its agricultural land amid concerns that it is losing control of its own food security, slashing the amount beyond which land purchases would require regulatory approval. From March 1, foreign purchases of agricultural land over A$15 million (C$14.51 million) will be subject […] Read more