Balance sheet of the agricultural sector, December 31, 2016
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Released: 2017-06-21
$500.3 billion
December 31, 2016
4.5% 
(period-to-period change)
$0.3 billion
December 31, 2016
-1.0% 
(period-to-period change)
$2.0 billion
December 31, 2016
6.2%
(period-to-period change)
$2.6 billion
December 31, 2016
7.6%
(period-to-period change)
$2.1 billion
December 31, 2016
-3.1%
(period-to-period change)
$49.8 billion
December 31, 2016
1.7%
(period-to-period change)
$136.7 billion
December 31, 2016
3.5%
(period-to-period change)
$37.3 billion
December 31, 2016
4.4%
(period-to-period change)
$92.2 billion
December 31, 2016
3.7%
(period-to-period change)
$141.5 billion
December 31, 2016
6.8%
(period-to-period change)
$35.8 billion
December 31, 2016
5.7%
(period-to-period change)
Equity in Canada's farm sector totalled $500.3 billion on December 31, 2016, up $21.6 billion (+4.5%) from the same date a year earlier. This was the smallest percentage increase since 2009.
Equity increased in every province except Newfoundland and Labrador (-1.0%) and New Brunswick (-3.1%).
The value of total farm assets rose 5.0% to $591.2 billion in 2016. Almost all of the increase came from a $27.3 billion gain in the value of farmland (+7.3%), but this was the smallest percentage increase in farmland values since 2010. Farmland values rose in every province, with Prince Edward Island (+13.2%) recording the largest percentage increase and New Brunswick (+2.0%) the smallest.
Moderating the increase in farm assets in 2016 was a $3.6 billion decrease in the value of livestock and poultry inventories (-14.4%). Lower cattle and calf prices, down 15.8% from the end of 2015, were responsible for much of the decline in the value of livestock and poultry inventories.
The value of total farm liabilities increased 7.5% or $6.3 billion to $90.8 billion. The debt-to-asset ratio, which measures the dependence of farm business on debt, was 15.4% in 2016, up slightly from 15.0% in 2015 and just below the five-year average of 15.5%.
Note to readers
The balance sheet of the agricultural sector provides the value of farm assets used to produce agricultural products, the liabilities associated with these assets and the farm sector equity as of December 31 for Canada and the provinces.
Assets and liabilities in the agriculture sector's balance sheet include those of farm businesses and non-operator landlords (for farm real estate assets leased to farm operators and the corresponding liabilities) and exclude the personal portion of farm households. This most closely reflects the assets and liabilities used in the production of agricultural products.
The balance sheet of the agricultural sector integrates data already produced by Statistics Canada, such as farm debt, value of farm capital, livestock and crop estimates, farm product prices and selected data from the Farm Financial Survey. These data are subject to revision.
Contact information
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