Canadian farm cash receipts posted a double-digit advance this past year, as crop and livestock returns, as well government payments, all showed an annual increase.
A Statistics Canada farm income report Monday pegged total 2021 Canadian farm cash receipts – which include returns from crops, livestock and government payments – at $81.9 billion, up 13.7% from 2020. The annual gain exceeded the 8.5% advance recorded the previous year.
Thanks mainly to a nearly one-third increase in hog returns, livestock receipts were up $3.5 billion or 13.4% in 2021 to $29.9 billion. Amid tightening supplies and stronger demand, crop receipts climbed 9.2% or $3.9 billion to $46.1 billion, while government payments jumped almost 72% to $5.6 billion as extreme heat and dry weather this past summer resulted in hefty crop insurance payouts in Western Canada.
Farm cash receipts were up in all provinces in 2021 with the exception of Prince Edward Island where the receipts were just flat. Alberta led the Prairie provinces higher, with total farm cash receipts in the province up 20.8% to $18.6 billion. Manitoba was close behind with a 19.3% increase to $8.3 billion while Saskatchewan receipts were up 15.7% to just over $19 billion. Ontario farm cash receipts increased 7.4% in 2021 to $17.9 billion and Quebec was up 8.1% to $11.1 billion.
Farm cash receipts are, for the most part, based on monthly marketings and the monthly prices of various commodities. Cash receipts do not represent the bottom line, as farmers still have to pay their expenses and loans and cover depreciation. Preliminary estimates of net farm income for 2021 will be available May 25.
With prices surging more than 43%, national canola receipts were up $1.8 billion or 17.4% to just over $12 billion in 2021. At $1.39 billion, barley returns were up almost 30%, while wheat (excl durum) receipts were roughly $1 billion or 15.9% higher at $7.1 billion. Durum receipts were almost 22% higher at just over $2 billion and corn receipts were up 4.2% to $2.3 billion.
With marketings down 25.6% and 35.1%, respectively, soybeans and flaxseed were the only major crops experiencing a drop in receipts in 2021. Soybeans were down 10% to $2.9 billion and flax fell 2.4% to $298 million.
On the livestock side, hog receipts rose 32.5% to $6.2 billion in 2021, while cattle and calves receipts were up 11% to $10.2 billion.
Total hog receipts were driven higher by an increase in slaughter hog receipts (+27.1%) to $5.4 billion as prices increased by 28%, while marketings were essentially flat. The increase in cattle and calves receipts was also driven by a rise in slaughter receipts (+14.4%) to $7.2 billion, as both prices and marketings increased, 9.6% and 4.4%, respectively.
Receipts for supply managed commodities increased to $12.5 billion and accounted for just over 40% of total livestock revenue in 2021.
In terms of crop insurance, drought-hit producers in Saskatchewan (+$1.6 billion) and Alberta (+$900 million) were the recipients of almost three-quarters of all program payments in 2021.
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