Farm bankruptcies in Western Canada have dropped by a third in the last
10 years, falling to 133 in 2001 from 331 in 1991.
But prairie farm leaders say the decline should not be interpreted to
mean times are getting easier for farmers, especially those in crop
production.
Keystone Agricultural Producers president Weldon Newton said the
numbers can be deceiving, since they don’t take into account the number
of producers opting to quit farming before they go broke.
“People are making decisions and getting out before they’re forced into
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bankruptcy,” he said.
“They’re making those decisions before they get to those extremes now.”
Terry Hildebrandt, president of the Agricultural Producers Association
of Saskatchewan, said many of today’s farmers have 30 to 40 years
experience in the industry. That experience has made them more
resilient.
At the same time, he said, there are fewer young people choosing to
farm, and it is the beginning farmers who often have the greatest
financial risk.
Although farm bankruptcy numbers may not be the best way to gauge the
state of farming, they do help illustrate the difficulties faced by
prairie crop producers, especially those in Saskatchewan.
Forty-eight Saskatchewan farms that were devoted exclusively to crop
production declared bankruptcy in 2001, which was three-quarters of all
farm bankruptcies in the province that year.
Hildebrandt said this reflects strong cattle prices and low grain
prices. As well, crop production is a large sector of agriculture in
Saskatchewan.
In Alberta, the highest number of farm bankruptcies was also among
producers growing only crops.
Last year’s drought in much of Alberta and parts of Saskatchewan
compounded the challenges for grain and oilseed producers.
Meanwhile, farm bankruptcies among Alberta fruit and vegetable
producers were the highest in more than a decade.
Officials in the market garden and greenhouse industries could only
speculate on why that increase occurred. Severe winterkill of
strawberry fields in the winter of 2000-01 was cited as one of the main
possibilities. Drought was also a likely factor.
In Manitoba, farm bankruptcy numbers for 2001 were similar between crop
producers, livestock producers and those with mixed farms.
