Farm cash receipts, January to March 2023
Released: 2023-05-25
$27.2 billion
January to March 2023
15.9% 
(year-over-year change)
Farm cash receipts for Canadian farmers totalled $27.2 billion in the first quarter, up $3.7 billion (+15.9%) from the same quarter in 2022. Crop (+$4.5 billion) and livestock (+$796.2 million) receipts increased in the first quarter of 2023, while program payments fell by $1.5 billion compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
Chart 1
Total crop, livestock and direct payment receipts as a proportion of total farm cash receipts, January to March, Canada, 2013 to 2023
All of the provinces had increases in farm cash receipts, led by Saskatchewan (+$2.2 billion), Alberta (+$489.1 million) and Manitoba (+$430.4 million). More favourable weather conditions in 2022, following the drought of 2021, led to increased production and higher marketings in the first quarter of 2023.
Chart 2
Farm cash receipts by category, by province or region, January to March, 2023
Higher marketings in some key crops pushed crop receipts up
In the first quarter, total crop receipts increased by $4.5 billion to $16.4 billion compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Although prices were mixed in the first quarter of 2023, higher marketings translated into higher receipts for some key crops such as canola, wheat (except durum wheat) and durum wheat.
Canola receipts were up 45.2% to $4.6 billion on the strength of higher marketings (+58.1%), as prices lagged by 8.2% in the first quarter.
Although prices were flat, wheat (except durum wheat) marketings increased by almost 50%, which pushed receipts from $2.0 billion in the first quarter of 2022 to $2.9 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Durum wheat marketings almost quadrupled from the same quarter a year earlier, and receipts increased from $329.6 million to $862.6 million.
In the first quarter of 2023, both barley and lentil receipts more than doubled to account for an increase of $580.0 million or just over 13% of the increase in crop receipts. For barley, this was a return to normal marketings compared with the same quarter a year earlier. For lentils, there continued to be a strong international demand led by Turkey.
Cattle and supply-managed receipts more than offset a decline in hog receipts
Total livestock receipts rose 9.9% to $8.8 billion in the first quarter, as cattle (+$552.2 million) and supply-managed sectors (+$365.2 million) more than offset a decrease in hog receipts (-$165.7 million).
Despite the drop in the number of cattle being slaughtered and exported, a price increase of 21.9% led to an increase of $3.1 billion in total cattle receipts.
Supply-managed receipts were up 11.0% to $3.7 billion in the first quarter, as all supply-managed commodities had higher receipts. Receipts for dairy (+$183.0 million) and chickens for meat (+$138.5 million) were up as a result of higher prices, as marketings remained relatively flat. Total supply-managed receipts accounted for just over 40% of total livestock receipts.
Hog receipts dropped 9.9% to $1.5 billion in the first quarter. Fewer slaughtered hogs and lower prices contributed to this overall decrease. International export receipts for hogs fell by 3.1% due to a drop in price, despite a 5.9% increase in marketings.
Program payments fall after record payments of crop insurance in 2022
Program payments fell 44.1% to $1.9 billion in the first quarter compared with the same quarter in 2022. Most of the decrease in the first quarter of 2023 was due to a drop in crop insurance payments. This followed a record year in crop insurance payments due to drought conditions in 2021.
The decrease in crop insurance payments (-$1.4 billion) was mostly concentrated in the Prairie provinces, led by Alberta (-$768.4 million), Saskatchewan (-$468.7 million) and Manitoba (-$163.6 million).
Note to readers
The next quarterly release of Farm Cash Receipts will occur on August 31, 2023 and will include data for January to June 2023.
Revised estimates of net farm income for 2022 will be available on November 28, 2023.
All data in this release are in current dollars. Farm cash receipts measure the gross revenue of farm businesses. They include sales of crops and livestock products (except sales between farms in the same province) and program payments. Receipts are recorded when the money is paid to farmers. These do not represent their bottom line, since farmers have to pay their expenses and loans and cover depreciation.
Farm cash receipts are, for the most part, based on monthly marketings and the monthly prices of various commodities. Marketings are quantities sold, using various units of measure.
Data are extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources. These data are subject to revision.
To calculate exports, the Canadian International Merchandise Trade Web Application was used.
For details on farm cash receipts and net farm income for 2022, see the "Farm income" release in today's Daily.
For the latest information on the Census of Agriculture, visit the Census of Agriculture portal.
For more information on agriculture and food, visit the Agriculture and food statistics portal.
As a result of the release of data from the 2021 Census of Agriculture on May 11, 2022, data on farm cash receipts, operating expenses, net income, capital value and other data are being revised, where necessary. The complete set of revisions will be released in the next 12 months.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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