Farm cash receipts, January to September 2017

Released: 2017-11-24

Farm cash receipts for Canadian farmers totalled $45.4 billion in the first three quarters of 2017, up 3.3% from the same period in 2016. This was the seventh consecutive year-over-year increase in receipts for the January-to-September period. Year-over-year gains in each quarter of 2017 contributed to the increase.

Farm cash receipts, which include crop and livestock revenues as well as program payments, rose in six provinces compared with the same period in 2016. Increases ranged from 7.5% in Manitoba to 1.5% in British Columbia.

Receipts were down in Nova Scotia (-10.0%), New Brunswick (-2.9%), Ontario (-0.2%) and Prince Edward Island (-0.1%).

Alberta recorded the highest level of farm cash receipts in the first three quarters of 2017 at $10.9 billion (+6.1%), followed closely by Saskatchewan at $10.4 billion (+3.6%) and Ontario at $9.1 billion (-0.2%).

Chart 1 
Total crops, livestock and direct payments receipts, January to September

Crop receipts

Crop receipts increased by $628 million (+2.6%) in the first three quarters of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016. This follows a 6.8% rise in the January-to-September period in 2016, and marks the sixth increase in the past seven years.

Strong increases in canola and wheat excluding durum receipts were enough to offset declines in lentil and soybean receipts.

Receipts for canola, the top grossing crop for the period, rose 9.7% to $7.2 billion, as prices (+5.7%) and marketings (+3.8%) both rose. Canola marketings, which were a record 14 million tonnes over the first 9 months of 2017, have been supported by record production, a strong export market, and robust domestic seed crushing.

Wheat excluding durum, the second-highest grossing crop, also contributed to the rise in crop receipts, up 11.6% to $3.8 billion, as marketings (+8.5%) and prices (+2.9%) both increased. Average prices were down year over year in the first and second quarters, but rose 13.5% in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2016, as concerns increased about a shortage of good quality wheat.

A 17.3% decline in lentil receipts moderated the gain in crop receipts, as prices fell 30.6% compared with the first three quarters of 2016. Lentil prices peaked in the second quarter of 2016 before declining, as world production began to recover. A decline in soybean receipts (-11.6%) also slowed the growth in crop receipts, as marketings fell 13.4%.

Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador recorded increases in crop receipts. Manitoba had the largest percentage gain with 13.1%, mainly due to increases in wheat excluding durum and soybean receipts, while Nova Scotia experienced the largest percentage decline at 9.7% as blueberry receipts fell.

Livestock receipts

Livestock receipts increased by $419 million to $18.4 billion in the first three quarters of 2017. This was the seventh increase in livestock receipts for the January-to-September period in the past eight years. The only exception was 2016, when the sector posted a 6.0% decline.

Receipts from the supply-managed sectors (+5.2%) were largely responsible for the 2.3% increase in livestock receipts. Dairy receipts were the main contributor, increasing $318 million (+7.0%), as both marketings and prices rose. Higher chicken (+2.8%) and egg (+4.6%) receipts were also factors, as marketings for both increased.

Hog receipts rose 7.6%, contributing an additional $245 million to the 2017 January-to-September totals compared with the same period in 2016. Hog prices were up 5.7%, while marketings climbed 1.8%.

Moderating the overall increase in livestock receipts was a $186 million decline in cattle and calf receipts (-2.8%), as prices decreased 3.8%. A 5.9% increase in the number of head slaughtered domestically was not enough to offset a 16.6% decline in the number of animals exported, combined with a 10.4% decline in the average export price. As of July 1, US cattle and calf inventories were at their highest point since 2008.

Livestock receipts rose in every province except Nova Scotia (-7.3%), Saskatchewan (-3.0%) and Manitoba (-1.6%). Nova Scotia's decline was primarily the result of a 46.2% drop in fur receipts, as marketings fell, while cattle and calf receipts fell in Saskatchewan (-9.6%) and Manitoba (-19.9%).

Alberta recorded the highest level of livestock receipts in the first three quarters of 2017 at $4.8 billion (+3.3%), followed closely by Ontario at $4.8 billion (+4.5%) and Quebec at $4.0 billion (+3.3%).

Program payments

Program payments rose to $1.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2017, up 29.9% from the same period in 2016. Higher crop insurance payments (+51.1%), primarily in Saskatchewan, were the main reason for the rise in program payments. Saskatchewan crop insurance claims were up due to an adverse 2016 growing season and difficult harvest.

In celebration of the country's 150th birthday, Statistics Canada is presenting snapshots from our rich statistical history.

The changing profile of farm cash receipts

In 1926, wheat was king in Canada, accounting for 72.1% of Canadian crop farm cash receipts. However, since that time, its dominance has generally been in decline. Including durum and marketing board payments, its proportion of crop receipts declined to 38.6% in 1971, and was down to 16.7% by 2016.

Canola is the current crop with the largest share of crop farm cash receipts, at 27.2% in 2016. Data on canola receipts were first recorded in this series in 1958, when they accounted for 0.7% of crop receipts in that year. By 1987, canola accounted for 9.8% of crop receipts. Canola overtook wheat in 2010 and has held the top spot ever since.

In 1926, the first year for which farm cash receipts data are available from this series, data on 10 crop types were published: wheat, potatoes, oats, barley, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, flaxseed, rye and sugar beets. The three largest crops (wheat, potatoes and oats) contributed 82.1% of the total crop receipts. In 2016, receipts data were published for more than 30 different crop types, with the three largest crops (canola, wheat and soybeans) contributing 52.4%. This reflects the increasing diversity of crops now grown in Canada.

On the livestock side, in 1926, cattle (22.0%) and hogs (25.6%) had similar shares of total livestock receipts. In 2016, cattle receipts (36.5%) were more than double those of hogs (17.1%), in their shares of all livestock farm cash receipts.

Dairy, poultry and egg receipts make up the bulk of the remaining share of livestock receipts. In 1926, dairy contributed 30.8% of the livestock receipts total, while poultry contributed 6.6% and eggs contributed 10.2%. In 2016, their shares were 25.9% for dairy, 12.2% for poultry, and 4.4% for eggs.

Products

Summary tables are also available.

Contact information

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