Canadian Farms Getting Bigger

OTTAWA - May 15/02 - SNS -- Not surprisingly, the last census in Canada discovered that as the number of farming operations in that country decline, the amount of land managed by the remaining businesses increases.

This was a core conclusion of the 2001 Census of Agriculture by Statistics Canada. It counted 246,923 farms in Canada on May 15, 2001, down almost 11% since 1996. All provinces shared the decline, with 8 of the 10 showing decreases over 10%.

Statistics Canada said the average farm in 2001 was 676 acres, compared with 608 acres in 1996. Those with gross receipts of $250,000 or more accounted for 13.8% of all farms in 2001, compared with 9.4% in 1996 (at 2000 prices). The average farm size in that sales class was 1,620 acres.

Farmers are expanding their crop area and are switching to different crops for economic reasons. In 2001, for every acre in wheat, 2.3 acres were in other field crops, compared with 1.8 in 1996. Wheat still represents the largest crop area but has declined 12.6%. Pulses, which include crops such as dry field peas, lentils and beans, showed significant increases.

Livestock numbers have increased substantially to reach a new high. The number of cattle on Canadian farms has risen again - as it has in every census since 1986. Hog numbers are approaching the level of cattle numbers for the first time.

The portion of a dollar represented by expenses is getting bigger. In 2000, farmers spent 87 cents on operating expenses (not including depreciation) for every dollar received in gross farm receipts. In 1995, the ratio was 83 cents in expenses for each dollar in receipts. Farmers are having to manage their expenditures even more carefully to remain competitive.

Environmentally friendly land management practices have surpassed conventional tillage methods in popularity and are now used on 60% of land tilled, double what it was in 1991. Practices such as conservation tillage minimize the number of passes farmers make over their fields, which in turn decreases fuel costs and lowers carbon dioxide emissions.