Canadian farm cash receipts in 1998 were the second-highest ever, Statistics Canada reported last week.
But grain and hog receipts were down sharply. And with wheat receipts down and canola up, the cinderella crop replaced non-durum wheat as the leading crop for the first time in history.
The report of near-record receipts threatened to revive the debate about whether there really is a farm crisis requiring last week’s announcement of a $1.5 billion federal-provincial aid package.
“Overall, farmers got $29 billion from the sale of agricultural commodities and government program payments last year, down 2.1 percent from their peak of $29.6 billion in 1997,” the federal agency reported Feb. 24, the day agriculture ministers were announcing aid package details in Victoria.
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“Farm cash receipts remained above the average of $27.1 billion for the five-year period between 1993-97.”
It led University of Guelph agricultural economist Wayne Howard to suggest in a Feb. 25 interview that the extent of the farm income crisis had been exaggerated last year. He said a worse income crunch will be felt in 1999.
“Even in hogs and grain, I hesitate to say there was a crisis in 1998,” said Howard. “Prices were awful at the end of the year. But the first half was not bad at all and it followed some pretty decent years.”
Targets specific sectors
At Agriculture Canada, economist Roger Eyvindson said the cash receipt numbers showed clearly why the aid program was targeted to those in need. The income and price problem was specific to several sectors.
“The crisis was a matter of distribution and last year was not a bad year for everyone,” he said. “It (the aid package) is aimed at those who had income problems.”
According to the Statistics Canada numbers, wheat revenues were down almost 22 percent last year. Barley receipts were down 30.5 percent. Hog sector receipts fell 24.7 percent.
There also were some winners.
Canola receipts, at almost $2.8 billion, were up 36 percent. Also higher were receipts to cattle producers and supply managed sectors.
And government-farmer-supported program payments increased more than 30 percent last year, mainly because of higher Net Income Stabilization Account payments and sharply higher provincial income stabilization support.
Across the Prairies, total provincial farm cash receipts fell last year.
Statistics Canada said the volumes of pork sold were higher but average prices fell 34.4 percent from the previous year. It dragged cash receipts for the sector down 25 percent.
“These prices, in current dollars, were the lowest since the beginning of the 1970s,” said the federal agency.
Lower wheat prices and volumes cut receipts in this crop by 27.4 percent to $2.4 billion in 1998. Canola receipts, buoyed by higher prices and volumes, soared to a record $2.8 billion.
