Canadian cash receipts up 6.1 percent Statistics Canada predicts next year will see similar increases for farmers
By any measure, Saskatchewan agriculture has moved to the head of the class among Canadian provinces as a money generator.
Last year, the province’s farms generated a realized net farm income (receipts minus expenses and depreciation) of $2.847 billion, 58 percent higher than the previous year and 150 percent higher than its closest rival, Quebec.
And Statistics Canada farm income and cash receipts data published Nov. 26 suggest another great year in the making.
To the end of September, farm cash receipts in Saskatchewan were $8.6 billion, seven percent higher than last year’s record performance.
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Gail-Ann Breeze, a Winnipeg-based farm income analyst in the Statistics Canada agriculture division, said in a Nov. 26 interview that the province had benefited from generally favourable weather and good crops, high prices for its commodities and increased marketings.
“Those three things coming together explain the numbers,” she said.
In contrast, Manitoba recorded a 17 percent decline in realized net income, largely because of flood-affected production reductions.
Last year, the Alberta farm economy climbed out of a significant loss from the year before to a $367 million realized net farm income.
This year, Alberta farm cash receipts have been the strongest among provinces.
Nation-wide last year, Canadian agriculture chalked up a record $5.677 billion in realized net income, a 53 percent increase from the previous year.
Richard Phillips, executive director of Grain Growers of Canada, said the farm income numbers reflect the new reality of agricultural prosperity.
During a Nov. 26 GGC board meeting, a Bank of Montreal economist targeted agriculture as an industry with strong prospects.
“I really think this shows we are in a new era in agriculture,” Phillips said.
“We will not see records every year, but we will see good returns, strong land prices and a very strong base for the industry.”
Statistics Canada said higher farm cash receipts came from almost across-the-board increases in farm receipts from major prairie sectors: grains, oilseeds, cattle and hogs.
Cattle prices were up 19.5 percent, but receipts increased just one percent because of fewer animals to market.
After years in the economic doldrums and continuing complaints of losses, the hog industry last year saw a 15.5 percent increase in receipts to $3.9 billion because of a sharp price rise, according to Statistics Canada.
Expenses also increased across-the-board but were eclipsed by the sharp rise in prices.
And two provinces, Newfoundland and British Columbia, recorded realized net income losses last year.
For the second consecutive year, the B.C. farm economy was in the red with losses growing to -$73 million last year from -$52 million in 2010.
Ironically, payments to farmers from government-supported programs also increased across the country, adding to the record farm income.
The federal agency said program payments last year in the midst of record prices increased more than 11 percent to $3.5 billion. Higher crop insurance payments on the Prairies and increased provincial stabilization payments accounted for the increase.
There was a significant increase in farmer withdrawals from AgriInvest to $425 million, while AgriStability payments, poised to drop even more after new rules take effect April 1, fell more than 11 percent last year to $741 million.
One of the sub-stories of the latest farm income data is the relative economic decline of Ontario among provinces.
Long Canada’s agricultural powerhouse, Ontario last year recorded a significant increase in realized net income but still was only third in the country behind Saskatchewan and Quebec.
This year, Ontario also placed third in provincial farm cash receipt totals behind Saskatchewan and Alberta for the first nine months.
Ontario’s farm results are widely expected to be worse than last year because of a drought that severely damaged forage and livestock industries in eastern Ontario and fruit and vegetable production in productive southwestern Ontario.
