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Monette to Sell 274,000 Acres 06/15 17:49
Court Monitors Note 'Unprecedented' Monette Farms Land Sale in Canada,
Western States
A Canadian judge has approved plans for a Saskatchewan-based farming giant
that fell on the wrong side of creditors to sell 274,000 acres of ground in
Canada and three western states, including Montana, Arizona and Colorado.
Chris Clayton
DTN Ag Policy Editor
OMAHA (DTN) -- Monette Farms Lt., a North American farming giant based in
Saskatchewan, received court approval last Friday from a Canadian judge to
start marketing roughly 274,000 acres of farmland across Canada and western
U.S. states.
Monette Farms this year is planting more than 400,000 acres of farm ground,
but the farm also will sell a majority of its ground during the next several
months.
Justice R.W. Armstrong in Alberta approved an extension that will allow
Monette Farms to continue operating until at least Nov. 13.
The judge also approved the marketing plan to begin selling 274,000 acres of
land with brokers beginning to market the properties by June 29 to potential
bidders. The land sale includes 61,718 acres of land across Montana, Arizona
and Colorado, along with larger acreages in Canada.
Monette became insolvent on April 15, 2026, when $829.5 million in loans
came due, according to court documents filed in the case. When such an
agreement matures, it means all outstanding principal and interest on the loan
comes due.
A report filed by FTI Consulting Canada Inc., operating as a court monitor
for Monette Farms, got approval to start lining up land brokers to sell the
274,000 acres.
The court monitor's report noted the sale is concentrated with more than
117,000 acres of farmland in Saskatchewan. The monitor's report noted that it
is unclear what could happen by offering so much land in the province at once.
"This amount of farmland hitting the market all at one time will be
unprecedented and accordingly it is yet to be determined how the market will
absorb the supply."
Farm Credit Canada released a report in March on farmland values across the
country. Dryland acreages in Saskatchewan range from $2,800 to $4,700 in
Canadian dollars, ($2,001 to $3,360 per acre). Irrigated ground averages about
$9,800 CAN, or $7,004 per acre. Land values rose by 9.4% across Saskatchewan in
2025, which was a slower pace than the two prior years.
At an average of $3,500 CAN, the Saskatchewan properties would be worth
roughly $410 million CAN or $293 million in U.S. dollars.
Along with the property in Canada, Monette also has 61,718 acres that will
come up for sale in the U.S., which includes 54,482 acres of cropland in
Montana. Other land in the U.S. for sale will include 3,157 acres used for
produce and seeds in Arizona and 4,079 acres of grain farmland in Colorado.
The court monitors noted that the collection of lenders tied to the farm,
dubbed "the syndicate," have a "significant financial interest in ensuring" the
land sale "is conducted efficiently, balancing the timely sale of assets to
reduce debt and improve liquidity while achieving reasonable market values for
the property."
Essentially bids will be taken on the farmland until Sept. 1, but no later
than Oct. 15. Successful bids on the farmland will be approved by Oct. 31 for
earlier bids. Ideally, the land up for sale will be sold after court approval
by Nov. 30.
The monitor's report also highlighted details of Monette's current
operation. For instance, as of early June, Monette Farms had seeded 341,525
acres out of 407,696 total acres.
The monitor's report also shows Monette has sold at least one farm for $29.8
million in Saskatchewan.
While the U.S. would not have specific limits on bidders for the farm
ground, provinces in Canada such as Saskatchewan and Manitoba have restrictions
on foreign ownership of farmland, limiting that ownership to just 40 acres in
either province.
More DTN related coverage:
-- "Monette Farms Seeks Court Permission to Sell 274,000 Acres in Canada,
US,"
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2026/06/04
/monette-farms-seeks-court-permission
-- "Canada's Monette Farms Becomes Insolvent After Failed $400M Capital
Raise, Ranch Auction,"
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2026/04/28
/canadas-monette-farms-becomes-failed
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN
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