Canada’s Farms Bigger, Farmers Younger

The 2016 Census of Agriculture for Canada was recently released, and the numbers buck a trend.

For the last 20 years, the number of farms in Canada has declined by a steady 10 percent in each five-year census period. The 2016 census found that the total number of farms declined by 6 percent, a pace cut almost in half from each of the previous four periods.

As you’d expect, while there are fewer farmers, they’re producing more. Farms are getting larger in the prairies, especially in Saskatchewan, where the average farm is 7 percent bigger.

The census also revealed that the nation has devoted more space to field crops, climbing from 69.7 million acres in 2011 to 78.5 million acres in 2016. Canadian farms in grains and oilseeds increased from 30 percent in the last census to 32.9 percent.

Canola continues as the largest Canadian crop. The area devoted to soybeans (Manitoba) and pulses (Saskatchewan) both dramatically increased. The number of cattle and dairy operations declined as the number of pig and poultry farms increased. Canada’s dairy sector produced more with less between 2011 and 2016; milk production grew 8.7 percent despite fewer cows.

The country also saw an uptick in young farmers. The census found 9.1 percent of farmers are younger than 35 compared to 8.2 percent in 2011.

Source: Farm Credit Canada