One of the biggest private farming operators in North America is liquidating thousands of acres of land to pay back its creditors in the hopes of staying afloat. Farming operator Monette Farms Ltd., under the supervision of court-appointed insolvency monitors, will liquidate all or part of the 274,000 acres of land it owns across Western Canada and some U.S. states.
The Swift Current, Sask.-based farming giant, which owes less than its assets are worth, will continue operating but only after selling off a sizeable chunk for its debt burdens. The insolvent business sought creditor protection under the Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in April, and has since been restructuring its finances to find a way out of a $1-billion hole. Monette Farms is expected to list farmland properties in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia by June 29, with plans to receive buyers’ bids throughout the third quarter.
It will also list American assets in Montana, Arizona and Colorado. The company — which chief executive Darrel Monette says is primarily based in Alberta — is not required to sell property in that province. A majority of the business’s operations are in grain farming, with smaller segments in growing produce, cattle ranching and seed processing.
The business began as a family farm outside of Swift Current in 1912, and Monette took over the family operations in 2013. He expanded across Western Canada and then into the U.S. in 2019.
According to court documents, the company’s growth strategy relied heavily on debt-driven land acquisitions. “This approach was sustainable with lower interest rates in the range of three percent and growing real property valuations,” Monette wrote to the Calgary Court of King’s Bench Justice Robert Armstrong in the April 17 affidavit. While heavily leveraged, adverse farming conditions in 2024 and 2025 dried up its free cash flow.
“Poor crop prices, higher costs, spoilage and poor yields placed substantial drags on profits,” Monette explained further. Monette Farms has defaulted multiple times with its lenders while attempting to sell off swaths of Saskatchewan farmland. Without “immediate” financing, Monette Farms would be unable to seed or harvest the farmland, according to court documents from April.
Related Nova Scotia aims to hook kids on fishery with labour shortages looming Deadly screwworm parasite found in U.S. threatens cattle herd The business owes $1 billion in consolidated liabilities. The Bank of Nova Scotia is the biggest lender, claiming an $830-million debt with payments that came due days before the filing.
Other outstanding debts include $11.8 million owed to Farm Credit Canada for a partially paid off cattle facility. There is also $18 million for a take-back mortgage and numerous equipment financings. The Saskatoon Star Phoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day.
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