Farmers are a diverse lot. Some are big operators and some are small. Many produce grain, others
livestock. Some rush to embrace new technology, others wait for the neighbor to try it first.
But one thing in common for most of you is The Western Producer.
We arrive in your home each week and you’ve come to know us well. And you are familiar to us – we talk to some of you each week as we gather information for news stories, renew your subscriptions and take your classified advertisements.
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But in 1996 we decided we needed a more formal demographic database of our subscribers to do the best job possible for readers and advertisers.
“We are dedicated to being at the forefront of the agriculture information industry and to do that, we need to know what is going on with our customers and farmers in general,” said Glenn Caleval, manager of subscriptions and data marketing.
Neither regular newspaper industry information nor the federal census provide the detail necessary, he said.
So in January 1997 we mailed a survey, called the WP Census of Agriculture, to 69,000 farm operators to get a better handle on who you are, what you grow, the equipment you have and the inputs you buy.
We also hoped that by collecting such a large and detailed data bank, we would reduce the need for other agricultural suppliers to do surveys, reducing the number of times farmers are polled,
Caleval said.
Almost 22,000 people responded by the end of April, an exceptional return rate, resulting in information that has good statistical validity.
We have assumed this database proportionately reflects our farmer-subscriber list.
The following survey information could be considered a mirror. Look into it, and see if you see yourself, TheWestern Producer subscriber.
Most of you have substantial operations. Of those who responded to a question on sales, more than two-thirds had gross sales of more than $50,000 and 46 percent had sales of more than $100,000.
About 45 percent of you farm more than 1,120 acres. Of those who responded to a question on off-farm income, about 60 percent earned less than 20 percent of their income off farm.
But that’s not to say only farmers with big operations read the Producer. About 18 percent of you farm less than 400 acres and some 13 percent earn more than 60 percent of total income off farm.
You probably won’t be surprised at the crop mix of readers. Wheat is still king and barley a close second in terms of crops included in the rotation. About one-third of you have grown canola in the last two years.
Many of you have joined in the move toward no-till production. About one third who grow wheat don’t till, but adoption of the practice is much lower in other crops.
But before you get the impression The Western Producer is a grain grower’s paper, look at the livestock numbers.
About 40 percent of you have beef cattle.
We also have readers with hogs, dairy, poultry and sheep, but the numbers are smaller, reflecting the nature of those sectors.
We knew many of you are interested in cattle and this confirms the need to provide information of interest to cattle producers. For example, in recent weeks we have run a full-page feature on humane handling and another on swath grazing, as well as results from Canadian Western Agribition in Regina and Edmonton’s Farmfair International.
Slightly surprising were the results on horse ownership. About 12 percent of you have horses and that information will encourage us to run more on equine health and management.
It is clear that you spend a lot on inputs, especially on fuel, fertilizer and herbicides.
For many, the largest single farm expense is fertilizer, underlining the importance of information on how to make the most efficient and effective use of this input.
Out in the machine shed, most of your equipment is more than five years old. There is a good chance your air seeder and sprayer are newer, but that is not surprising given the rapid advances in seeding and chemical technology.
Many have modern gadgets in homes and offices. About 40 percent have computers, 22 percent have a satellite dish, 20 percent have fax machines and 43 percent have cellular phones.
In addition to answering the survey, many respondents included letters describing unique aspects of operations.
“We got hundreds of written comments. Some of them were very impressive and very helpful,” said Caleval.
The comments highlighted a wide variation in ownership and management arrangements, much different than the stereotype of the one-family farm.
“Arrangements ranged from five brothers owning land in common and taking responsibility for a particular segment of the operation, to situations where multiple owners, not family at all, join in a partnership where one is responsible for purchasing capital equipment and another purchases the ongoing operating supplies such as fertilizer and fuel, dividing up responsibilities based on their own perceived skill sets,” he said.
“They are a creative, innovative, intelligent bunch of people.”
Source for all material:
WP Census of Agriculture, Subscriber Profile, 1997
