By Nick Marchant, Director, March Talent Partners · Published 28 October 2026 · 6 min read
TL;DR. Farmland values rose 7.6% to a national median of $10,719 a hectare in the first half of 2026, on a record-low 3,076 sales, Bendigo Bank reports. Scale buyers are taking the top-tier holdings while family operators lease and share-farm. Both models hand more country, and more capital, to the people who manage it.
Key takeaways
- The national median rose 7.6% to $10,719 a hectare in the first half of 2026, and every state rose except Tasmania, down 9.5% (Bendigo Bank, 2026).
- 3,076 properties sold, a record half-yearly low against a five-year average of 3,988 (Bendigo Bank, 2026).
- Smaller and expanding family operations are turning to leasing and share-farming, helped along by higher borrowing costs (Bendigo Bank, 2026).
- Assistant farm manager is the most-placed role across our whole book, and the buyers we work with scope a layered hire structure rather than a single farm manager (MTP client briefs and placement data).
Farmland values kept climbing through the first half of 2026 while sales fell to a record half-yearly low. The national median reached $10,719 a hectare, up 7.6% on a year earlier, from 3,076 sales (Bendigo Bank). Fewer properties changing hands at higher prices tells you who is still buying, and it changes the people question for everyone who owns or runs land.
What did farmland values do in the first half of 2026?
Every state rose on a year earlier except Tasmania. Western Australia led on growth and Queensland set a record median on strong cattle markets and continued consolidation. Across the country, 54% of agricultural regions recorded a higher median, against 38% a year earlier.
| State | Median price ($/ha) | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland | $11,047 | +11.9% |
| New South Wales | $10,058 | +2.1% |
| Victoria | $14,837 | +7.7% |
| South Australia | $10,121 | +9.5% |
| Western Australia | $7,345 | +20.9% |
| Tasmania | $15,904 | -9.5% |
| National | $10,719 | +7.6% |
Source: Bendigo Bank, Australian Farmland Values, 2026 Mid-Year Report, first half of 2026 against the first half of 2025.
Livestock did much of the work. Bendigo Bank credits strong livestock markets with keeping cash flowing and grazing demand up, while flat grain markets against rising input costs compressed cropping margins and cooled buyers on marginal country.
Who is buying in a two-speed market?
Bendigo Bank’s Eliza Redfern describes “an increasingly two-speed market”. On one side, buyers with strong balance sheets and scale compete for top-tier holdings. On the other, smaller and expanding family operations lean toward leasing, share-farming and improving the land they already have, with higher borrowing costs pushing them that way (Bendigo Bank mid-year report).
Both sides end up with the same problem. The scale buyer adds a holding it has to staff. The family operator adds leased or share-farmed country without adding equity, so management capacity runs out before capital does. In both cases, someone has to run more country than before.
Why does the manager matter more when farmland values rise?
Run the arithmetic on a mid-sized holding. At the national median, 4,000 hectares is about $43 million of land. At Queensland’s record median of $11,047, the same holding is about $44 million. That is the asset a farm manager runs on an owner’s behalf, and the margin on it is thinning: ABARES expects average broadacre farm business profit to fall 39% to $133,000 in 2026-27 (ABARES). Land prices are climbing while the return per hectare falls, which puts the weight on the person making the operating calls.
At the national median, a 4,000 hectare holding puts about $43 million of land under one manager.
The buyers we work with have read this the same way. As we noted in our piece on management depth in agribusiness M&A, they now scope a layered hire structure rather than a single farm manager, with an assistant farm manager bench beneath the senior roles. Assistant farm manager is the most-placed role across our whole book.
What should landholders plan for in 2027?
Bendigo Bank expects farmland values to hold through the second half of 2026 and growth to ease in 2027, as rate rises, a possible dry season and input costs test balance sheets. Three moves follow for the people side.
- Match the manager to the asset. A holding worth $40 million or more needs a manager with a record on country of that size and value, and the pay to keep them.
- Settle the management question at purchase. The manager-level searches we’ve completed since late 2024 ran two to seven months from engagement to start date, as our succession planning piece sets out. If the incumbent manager won’t stay with the new owner, that is the gap you take on at settlement.
- Growing through leases? Hire the second-in-command first. Leased and share-farmed country adds workload before it adds equity, and an assistant farm manager carries that workload while the owner keeps the home block running.
If values cool in 2027 as Bendigo Bank expects, buyers will price operations on what they earn per hectare. That number sits with whoever runs the place.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median price of farmland in Australia in 2026?
The national median was $10,719 a hectare in the first half of 2026, up 7.6% on a year earlier, according to Bendigo Bank’s mid-year farmland values report. Victoria had the highest mainland state median at $14,837 a hectare. Tasmania fell 9.5% to $15,904, and Western Australia rose 20.9% to $7,345.
Why are fewer farms selling?
Bendigo Bank counted 3,076 sales in the first half of 2026, a record half-yearly low against a five-year average of 3,988. Rising prices have put larger purchases out of reach for many smaller farmers, and higher borrowing costs have pushed more of them toward leasing and share-farming. Buyers with scale remain active for top-tier holdings.
What do rising farmland values mean for farm manager hiring?
More capital sits under each manager. At the national median, a 4,000 hectare holding is about $43 million of land, while ABARES expects average broadacre farm business profit to fall 39% in 2026-27. That raises the cost of a weak manager, and it is why the buyers we work with scope a layered structure with an assistant farm manager bench, not a single manager.
March Talent Partners works with farming businesses and agribusinesses across Australia on permanent placements, from operational roles through to mid-senior management. If you’ve bought, leased or taken on more broadacre or grazing country than your current team can run, talk to us about the search.
