Market revenues from farmgate sales tumbled 12.3 percent during the first quarter of 2010 because of reduced sales, prices and program payments, says Statistics Canada.
For the first time since 2006, revenues from crop sales declined, falling to $5.3 billion and down 17.4 percent from last year, according to the federal agency.
Revenue from livestock sales continued its multi-year decline, falling 4.4 percent in the January to March period to $4.5 billion. The greatest decline, 11.5 percent, happened in Saskatchewan.
Meanwhile, program payments fell 18 percent to $703.1 million.
The first Statistics Canada report on the current year lists only revenues and not expenses and net farm income.
Meanwhile, the federal agency reports that in 2009, Canadian farmers recorded a realized net farm income (receipts minus expenses and depreciation) of $3.6 billion, a marginal decline from the previous year.
Without program payments of $3.2 billion, farmers recorded a realized net income of $400 million on farmgate sales of $41 billion. In most years over the past several decades, net farm income was positive only because of payments from various federal and provincial programs.
Program payments fell 20.1 percent last year. Statistics Canada said lower payouts resulted from “lower payments from the AgriStability program due to the strength of the grain and oilseeds sector and the winding down of several programs.”
Ottawa said that for the first time in 23 years, farm expenses fell last year by four percent, driven by lower machinery, fuel, interest and fertilizer costs. Depreciation charges were 5.1 percent higher than in 2009.
The largest decrease in expenses came in Saskatchewan where they fell 6.6 percent.
The previous year, farm expenses increased nationally by 9.1 percent and 13.5 percent in Saskatchewan.
