Farm Credit Canada says farmland values are showing only modest increases for the first half of this year.

FCC chief agricultural economist, J.P. Gervais, says the national average rise for farmland was three percent, down from 6.6 percent last year.

He says Saskatchewan’s farmland rose 2.9 percent in the first six months of this year, reflecting a time of cautious buying.

He says there are softer commodity prices so crop receipts may decline this year, and a less robust increase in farmland prices makes sense.

He says land value increases were more pronounced from 2011 to 2015 in many regions.

In 2015, the average increase was 10 percent and since then, Canada has seen more moderate single-digit increases in average farmland values.

Gervais says most Canadian farms remain in a good financial position with a strong balance sheet.

Although there are trade issues and challenging weather conditions, he says demand for Canadian farm products remains strong.