Ontario Farm Input Prices Drop; Farmers Spending Less On Machinery

Jan 08, 2016

By Joe Dales

Farm input costs in Ontario were down in the third quarter of 2015, compared to second-quarter numbers.

Stats Canada this week released data showing a 0.4 per cent drop in costs, but third-quarter numbers were still up a full two per cent from 2014.

While costs were down in Ontario, the nation-wide Farm Input Price Index (FIPI) rose 0.4 per cent in the third quarter.

The national increase was mainly attributable to animal production (+1.7 per cent).

A deeper look at costs related to farm machinery and motor vehicles shows that Canadian farmers spent 4.9 per cent less on those categories in the third quarter of 2015 versus one year ago.

Other inputs factored into the index are buildings, general farm business costs, and crop production.

Stats Canada’s FIPI is an indicator of the change in input costs faced by Canadian farmers. As such, the FIPI can be used to monitor price changes, which are considered in the operations of marketing boards and in price stabilization programs.

Governments use index data to develop national and regional economic policies related to agriculture.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.