Farmers have until July 31 to complete the questionnaire
Canadian farmers have about three weeks to complete the Census of Agriculture.
The deadline is July 31, and participation is mandatory under the Statistics Act.
“Any person responsible for operating farm or an agricultural operation should complete a 2026 Census of Agriculture questionnaire,” Stats Canada says.
Any operation that produces agricultural products and reports revenues and taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency is considered a “census farm.
Once census data is collected and organized, multiple stakeholders use it for different purposes.
Industry groups may use the information to target lobbying efforts, while governments can identify funding or policy improvements.
Take two censuses in the late 90s and early 2000s, for example.
At the time, some farmers participated in the voluntary Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA) program, which encouraged farmers to save money during good years, so they had available funds during challenging times.
This government program saw farmers keep two accounts.
One held a farmer’s own deposits while the other account had matching contributions from provincial and federal governments.
Farmers could deposit up to 3 per cent of their annual eligible net sales. These deposits also earned a 3 per cent interest bonus.
Producers could withdraw money from the government-backed accounts when their income fell below a certain threshold.
The censuses in 1996 and 2001, however, showed flaws in NISA.
Policymakers used gross revenue data to highlight larger operations were pooling public dollars at the expense of smaller farms.
This discrepancy led to discussions during the Growing Forward ag policy framework (2007 – 2013), and the creation of the AgriInvest program in 2008.
Under AgriInvest, “producers can deposit up to 100% of their Allowable Net Sales, with the first 1% matched by governments. The limit on matching government contributions is $10,000 per AgriInvest account,” Stats Canada says.
AgriInvest standardized government contributions and provides farmers with a simpler structure and more flexibility for withdrawals.
Canadian farmers yet to complete the census can access it online.
Paper versions are available, and the Census Help Line (1-855-340-2021) is available to farmers who need assistance.
Stats Canada published its list of 66 questions in July 2025.