Farm Product Price Index

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Prices farmers received for their commodities in November rose 12.4% from November 2010, as overall livestock and animal product prices and crops prices continued to advance, a trend that started in August 2010.

Compared with the same month in 2010, the livestock and animal products index (+18.4%) and the crops index (+6.5%) both increased in November.

Relative to November 2010, advances were recorded in all livestock commodities, ranging from 5.6% for dairy to 35.1% for hogs.

The 12-month change in the Farm Product Price Index

Chart description: The 12-month change in the Farm Product Price Index

The hogs index (+35.1%) and the cattle and calves index (+20.2%) sustained their year-over-year growth trend that started in spring 2010. Lower on-farm inventories of cattle and hogs in North America and higher feed grain costs have contributed to their higher prices.

All three supply-managed commodities also continued their year-over-year growth trend that started in July 2010 for dairy, November 2010 for eggs and January 2011 for poultry. Higher feed costs drove the increase.

On the crops side, all commodities rose except for vegetables (-3.0%). Specialty crops (+31.1%) recorded the largest year-over-year increase for the third consecutive month.

The oilseeds (+11.0%) and grains (+0.4%) indexes maintained their year-over-year growth trend that started in September 2010. However, since June 2011, their rate of increase has been at a continually slower rate. In November, the International Grains Council forecast continued to show an increase in total world grain production for 2012.

On a monthly basis, the November index decreased 0.8% as both the crops index (-1.4%) and the livestock and animal products index (-0.5%) fell.

Note: The growth rate of the total Farm Product Price Index (FPPI) is derived from a weighted average of the component indices using a different set of weights in consecutive months; it is not a weighted average of the growth rates of its crop and livestock components. Given this, the growth rate of the composite FPPI can lie outside the growth rate of these components.

Available on CANSIM: tables 002-0021 and 002-0022.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5040.

The November 2011 issue of Farm Product Price Index, Vol. 11, no. 11 (21-007-X, free), is now available from the Key resource module of our website under Publications.

For more information, or to order data, call Client Services (toll-free 1-800-465-1991). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Gail-Ann Breese (204-983-3445; fax: 204-983-7543; gail-ann.breese@statcan.gc.ca), Agriculture Division.