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/…

-- "Canada's Monette Farms Becomes Insolvent After Failed $400M Capital Raise, Ranch Auction," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.