Canadian Farm Income Down From Last Year

USAgNet reports that Agriculture Canada is predicting farm incomes in Saskatchewan will decline by 55% this year over 2009. Officials said net farm income for 2010 is expected to total $980 million, compared to $2.2 billion last year.

Saskatoon economist Richard Gray said the problem is supply and demand in the grain market. “The world produced two incredibly large crops in a row,” Gray said. “We went from almost record low stocks just over two years ago to a situation where stocks are back to what people would call large again.”

Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud said much depends on the weather, as spring seeding was delayed by snow and rain this year. “There’s very little of the crop in at this point, but boy, that can change in a week out there. It’s just newer and better equipment than we used to farm with and they work long hours out there, but they cover so much more ground.”

Bjornerud said if the weather forces a further delay in seeding, the province will seriously consider extending seeding deadlines for crop insurance.