Chart: Farm population keeps declining but at a slower rateStatistics Canada today releases the third and final report based on the 1996 Census of Agriculture which paints a new statistical portrait of the nation's farmers.
The first report from the Census of Agriculture gave a national overview of changes in agriculture between 1991 and 1996, focusing on the number of farms, crops, livestock, operating expenses and other farm characteristics. The second report added information on the management structure of farms, the hours farmers worked on and off the farm and the types of non-agricultural businesses many of them operated.
Today's report combines data from the Census of Agriculture with data from the 1996 Census of Population. The resulting analysis allows an in-depth look at Canadian farm operators and farm families. It also allows certain characteristics of the farm population to be compared with the general population.
The data, collected on May 14, 1996, show changes over time in the makeup of farm families, advances in the level of education of farm operators and variations in the composition of their family income. This report also provides data on immigrant farm operators and on unpaid work on the farm.
Canadian agriculture in the mid-1990s consisted of fewer farms and a declining farm population. This decline in the farm population and its share in rural areas was due in large part to changing technology and farm size. While the overall area under cultivation has remained fairly stable over the last few decades, the number of farms has fallen significantly, leaving fewer, but larger, farms.
From a high of 732,800 in 1941, the total number of census farms in Canada has declined to about 276,500 in 1996.
Since the Second World War, the proportion of people living on farms has dropped drastically. At the time of the 1996 Census of Agriculture, Canada's farm population was 851,400, just 3.0% of the overall population. In 1941, just under 3.2 million people lived on farms, more than one-quarter of the overall population.
The decline in the farm population has slowed considerably since 1986. Between 1986 and 1991, the farm population declined 5.6% while it fell 1.7% between 1991 and 1996. The largest relative decline between censuses (-23.7%) occurred between 1966 and 1971.
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Chart: Farm population keeps declining but at a slower rate
In some provinces, the declining trend in farm population has reversed. The farm population has been increasing since 1986 in British Columbia (+13.1%) and Alberta (+7.4%). Two other provinces showed increases between 1991 and 1996: Nova Scotia (+4.1%) and Manitoba (+0.6%). Despite the increases in these provinces, their farm population represents either a declining or relatively stable share of the province's total population, as the non-farm population has risen at a faster rate.
Ontario's farm population of about 221,200 was the largest of any province but accounted for only 2% of the province's total population in 1996. In contrast, the farm population of 145,600 in Saskatchewan represented 15% of its total population, the highest share.
Nationally, the farm population's share of the total population in rural areas has also declined drastically during the past half century. In 1941, the rural farm population accounted for about two-thirds of the rural population in Canada. Fifty-five years later, the proportion had declined to only 13%.
Farm families are getting smaller, which has been one reason for the decline in the farm population. At the same time, there are proportionately more seniors on farms.
In 1971, the average size of a farm family was 4.3 persons. By 1996, this had declined to 3.4. In contrast, the average family in the general population declined from 3.7 persons to 3.0 during the same 25-year period.
A major factor in the decline in average size of farm families has been a substantial drop in the proportion of larger families. In 1971, 4 in every 10 families (40%) had at least 5 members. Twenty-five years later, that proportion had declined to 2 in 10 (22%).
The Census of Agriculture also confirmed that the aging trend in the general population is occurring within the farm population. People aged 65 and over made up 8.3% of the farm population in 1996, compared with 7.6% in 1991 and 5.9% in 1971. On the other hand, in 1996 children under the age of 15 represented 24.3% of the total farm population, down from 25.0% in 1991 and 32.5% in 1971.
Almost one-third (32%) of farm operators were aged 55 and over in 1996, unchanged from 1991 but slightly down from 34% in 1971. (In contrast, people aged 55 and over accounted for 10% of the general labour force in 1996.)
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People under the age of 35 represented 16% of all farm operators in 1996, while individuals in that age group made up 41% of the general labour force.
Because farmers usually live where they work, they tend to stay active on their farms longer than others in the labour force, even if they choose to scale back the extent of their operations and enter semi-retirement. In addition, some farmers remain involved in farming with their adult children, while others may enter agriculture as a hobby after retiring from the general labour force.
The 1996 Census counted 39,600 farm operators who were immigrants, about one-tenth of all 387,600 farm operators in Canada.
About 11,500 of these immigrant farmers reported English as their mother tongue (anglophones), 1,400 reported French (francophones), and the remainder, about 26,700, reported a mother tongue other than English or French (allophones).
Of the allophone immigrants, the largest group consisted of farm operators who reported German as their mother tongue (8,500), followed by Dutch (8,100), Italian (1,500) and Portuguese (800).
Differences in types of farms were noted when considering the mother tongue of immigrant farmers. For instance, about one-quarter (24%) of farm operators with German as their mother tongue were beef farmers. Those reporting Dutch were more likely to be involved in dairy farming (26%) while those reporting Italian appeared to show a preference for fruit farming (22%).
Ontario had the largest group of immigrant farmers, about 15,500 or 39% of the national total. British Columbia followed with 9,100 or 23% of the total, then Alberta with 7,300, or 18%.
One in every three farm operators (27%) in British Columbia was an immigrant, by far the highest proportion among the provinces. British Columbia was home to 700 immigrant farm operators who reported Punjabi as their mother tongue, virtually the entire group in Canada. They were involved mostly in fruit farming. Seventy percent of the 500 immigrant farm operators who reported Chinese as their mother tongue also resided in British Columbia. Over half (53%) of all mushroom farms in that province were operated by an immigrant farmer with Chinese as their mother tongue. Vegetable farming was also prevalent for this group of farm operators.
Fifty-five percent of Ontario immigrant farmers reported that their mother tongue was either German, Dutch or Italian. This gave Ontario the highest share of immigrant operators reporting any of the three main non-official mother tongues.
The Agriculture-Population database showed that farmers on the whole were better educated in 1996 than they were 15 years earlier. In addition to increases in university education, many opted for some form of non-university postsecondary education such as agricultural colleges. This was particularly true among younger farmers.
Four out of ten farm operators (40%) had some postsecondary education in 1996, with non-university postsecondary education being more common than university education. Slightly more than 15% of farmers had a university education in 1996, up from 11% in 1981. By comparison, 29% of the general labour force had a university education in 1996. But during this same 15-year period, the proportion of all farm operators with some form of non-university postsecondary education increased from 16% to 24% (compared with 29% of the general labour force in 1996).
This difference between the two levels of education was particularly noticeable among farm operators under the age of 35. In 1996, 34% of this age group had a non-university postsecondary education, more than twice the proportion of 15% who went to university.
The preference for a non-university postsecondary schooling may be the result of a number of factors, including the time a university education requires away from the farm and a practical-oriented approach of college courses on animal care and field techniques, for instance.
Even among farmers aged 55 and over, education levels improved during this 15-year period. About 25% of this age group had a postsecondary education in 1996, almost twice the proportion of 14% in 1981. In 1996, 66% of this group had at least some high school education, up substantially from 44% in 1981.
Coincidentally, agriculture was not the most popular field of study for farmers in 1996. Of those farmers who reported postsecondary education, 19% studied agricultural and biological sciences and technologies. However, 23% chose engineering and applied science technologies and trades, the most popular field. The third most popular choice was commerce, management and business administration (10%).
On the whole, farm operators across Canada averaged 11.7 years of schooling in 1996, up from 10.2 in 1981.
Female farm operators attended school for slightly longer than their male counterparts. Women averaged 12.5 years of schooling in 1996, up from 11.0 in 1981. Men, on the other hand, averaged 11.5 years of schooling in 1996, up from 10.1.
Three out of every 10 female farm operators (30%) had some non-university postsecondary education, while 19% had university education. In contrast, 23% of male operators had a non-university postsecondary education, while 14% had a university education.
The most popular fields of study among female farm operators were commerce, management and business administration (20%) and health professions, sciences and technologies (19%). For female operators, trades and agricultural and biological sciences and technologies ranked fourth with 10%. Fields of study did not differ between women in the general population and female operators. Commerce, management and business administration ranked first with 14% of women, followed by health professions, sciences and technologies (9%).
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Male operators preferred the fields of engineering and applied science technologies and trades (33%) and agricultural and biological sciences and technologies (24%). Engineering and applied science technologies and trades was also the most common field of study for men in the general population (19%). Commerce, management and business administration ranked second with 8% of the total.
The total income of a census family is the sum of the total incomes of all members of that family aged 15 and over received during the calendar year preceding the census. Income includes wages and salaries, net farm income, net non-farm self-employment income, government transfer payments, investment income, retirement pensions, and other money income.
This analysis on families' total income focuses on those census families involved in an unincorporated farm. This allows an analysis not only of their total income, but also the relative importance of net farm income to the total income of these families.
The 1996 Census of Population collected information on levels of farm family income for 1995. According to the data, 216,600 farm families were involved in an unincorporated farm in 1995, down 6.2% from 1990 and down 19.5% from 1980.
The average income of these families from all sources for 1995 was $53,121, a 3.6% increase from 1990 after adjusting for inflation. This level is very close to the average income of $54,562 for families in the general population, which had actually declined 4.9% during the five-year period.
Since 1980, many factors have caused family income to fluctuate. The recession in the early 1980s resulted in a decline in family income between 1980 and 1985. Then family income increased significantly during the recovery of the late 1980s. Income among farm families appears to have followed a similar trend.
Overall, the average income of farm families in 1995 was 5.6% higher than in 1980, compared with an increase of only 2.6% among families in the general population.
As with several previous censuses, wages and salaries remained the biggest source of income for farm families in 1995. Since 1985, they have always accounted for at least half of the total income of census families associated with unincorporated farms. In 1995, wages and salaries accounted for 55 cents of every dollar in total farm family income, unchanged from 1990.
The size of the farm affected the amount of wages and salaries earned by a farm family. Generally, with higher gross farm receipts, a smaller share of a family's total income came from wages and salaries. When gross farm receipts surpassed $100,000, wages and salaries represented less than 40% of the total income of the farm family. Wages and salaries contributed the least (33%) to the income of families on farms with gross farm receipts ranging from $250,000 to $500,000. Wages and salaries represented the largest share of a family's total income (69%) on farms where gross farm receipts were less than $10,000.
In contrast, net income from farming activities accounted for only 19 cents of every dollar in family income, which in fact was an increase from 15 cents in 1990. This increase in proportion reversed a downward trend that started in 1980 when net farm income represented 31 cents of every dollar.
About 12 cents of every dollar in family income in 1995 came from some form of government program payment such as benefits from Canada or Quebec Pension Plan, Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement, twice the level of 6 cents in 1980.
The balance of farm family income in 1995 came from non-farm self-employment income (4 cents) and "all other" income (11 cents), proportions that remained virtually unchanged from 1980.
One reason that wages and salaries have grown in importance is the volatility of agricultural prices. Over time, farm families have diversified their income sources by seeking work off the farm as one way to stabilize their total income. This can be observed for families operating either small or large farms.
For other families, farming could be considered a secondary occupation, or even a hobby. In these cases, the farm may exist for reasons other than generating income, and is not expected to provide the family with significant disposable income.
The proportion of farm families that earned at least three-quarters of their income from the farm has been steadily declining. In 1995, only about 8% earned at least 75 cents of every dollar from their unincorporated farm, compared with 21% in 1980.
Just over 42,400 farm families, or about one-fifth of farm families on unincorporated farms, earned at least 50 cents of every dollar on the farm in 1995. Fifteen years earlier, this was the case for just over one-third of farm families.
Those families who earned at least half their income in agriculture were more likely to be involved in grain and oilseed farming, cattle, wheat or dairy farms. They were also likely to to be involved in farms operated by more than one person.
Between 1980 and 1995, net income from farming activities declined as a proportion of total income for farm families in every province except Nova Scotia, where it remained virtually stable at 15%.
In 1995, net income from farming activities accounted for 29 cents of every dollar of total income for farm families on unincorporated farms in Saskatchewan. While this was the highest level among the provinces, it also represented the largest decline in this proportion during the previous 15 years. In 1980, net farm income accounted for 49 cents of every dollar in total income in Saskatchewan.
Net farm income represented at least one-fifth of total income in 1995 in only one other province - Manitoba (24%).
On the other hand, between 1980 and 1995 wages and salaries increased as a proportion of total income in almost every province. In Nova Scotia, the share of wages and salaries declined from 59% in 1980 to 56% in 1995.
Wages and salaries accounted for 66 cents of every dollar of total income for farm families in British Columbia in 1995, the highest proportion among the provinces.
The only provinces in which wages and salaries represented half or less of a farm family's total income were Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island. Still, wages and salaries remained the main contributor to a family's total income. For instance, in Saskatchewan where wages and salaries accounted for the lowest share of the total, they accounted for 47 cents of every dollar of income in 1995, substantially higher than the level of 32 cents 15 years earlier.
Farm family members provide information on their Census of Population questionnaire about their main labour market activity, which may include unpaid work in a family farm or business.
In addition, for the first time in 1996, family members were also questioned on unpaid household work. Respondents aged 15 and over were asked to report the amount of time they spent in the week prior to the census doing unpaid housework or home maintenance, taking care of children without pay and providing care or assistance to seniors.
In 1996, 5% of the farm population aged 15 and over reported that their main labour market activity was working without pay in a family farm or business, compared with 18% in 1971. Several reasons explain this important decline.
By allowing more than one person per farm to be listed as a farm operator since 1991, some persons who were previously unpaid family workers became self-employed farm operators. This change contributed significantly to the increase in the number of self-employed female operators observed between 1986 and 1991. During that five-year period, the number of unpaid family female workers declined by 22,130 while the number of self-employed female farmers rose by 24,220. This shift from one group to another partly explains the decline in the share of unpaid family workers. Other factors also impacted on unpaid family workers.
During the past quarter century, increased automation in agriculture has made it possible for farmers to accomplish the same, and even more, work with less labour. In addition, farm operators may be more likely than in the past to pay family members a wage for the work they do on the farm. As well, since only one job can be reported on the census questionnaire, family members may be more inclined to report a labour activity from which they are earning income even though they are also involved in unpaid farm work.
The contribution towards unpaid farm work comes mainly from women. Women who were not farm operators accounted for 72% of all family members who worked without pay on the farm in 1996. In contrast, men who were not farm operators represented the remaining 28% of workers without pay.
Overall, most of the farm population aged 15 and over reported that they did some form of unpaid household work in the week prior to the census, the same proportion as in the general population.
In the farm population, 88% reported that they did unpaid housework or home maintenance (89% in the general population); 43% reported caring for children (38% in the general population); and 22% spent time caring for a senior (16% in the general population).
Most individuals on farms reported putting in five to 14 hours on unpaid housework in the week before the census. Women were more likely to do some unpaid housework than men and to report longer hours. In fact, in the farming population, 46% of women who reported unpaid housework spent at least 30 hours in the week prior to the census, three times the proportion of 16% among men.
Half (50%) of female farm operators reported that they provided child care, and about 39% of these women said they spent at least 30 hours doing so in the week prior to the census.
With an aging population, Canadians have become increasingly concerned about issues such as care for seniors. For the first time, the Census of Population collected information on unpaid care for assistance provided to seniors. This was defined to include such activities as providing personal care to a senior family member, visiting seniors, talking with them on the telephone, and helping them with shopping, banking or with taking medication.
In the week prior to the census, one in every five people aged 15 and over on Canadian farms provided such care to seniors - 27% of women and 18% of men. This was slightly higher than the proportions in the general population, where 19% of women and 14% of men provided care to seniors.
About 13% of women on farms and 10% of men who reported caring for seniors spent at least 10 hours doing so in the week prior to the census. In comparison, 16% of women and 12% of men in the general population who cared for seniors spent 10 hours or more doing so.
For more information or to enquire about concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Lynda Kemp (613-951-3841), Census of Agriculture, or Media Relations (613-951-4636).
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