Farm Cash Receipts See Increase Over 2019

Nov 26, 2020

Statistics Canada says farm cash receipts for Canadian farmers totalled $51.6 billion over the first three quarters of 2020, up 8.4% (or up $4.0 billion) from the same period in 2019.

This as a result of higher marketings in most grains and oilseeds, especially canola.

Saskatchewan (+$2.2 billion) accounted for over half of the increase, while Ontario (+$731.1 million), Alberta (+$465.0 million) and Quebec (+$387.9 million) also reported large gains in receipts.

Crop receipts rose 14.8% to $30.0 billion and direct payments were up 30.1% to $2.4 billion, while livestock receipts decreased 2.2% to $19.1 billion.

Realized net income of Canadian farmers rose 14.9% from 2018 to $5.5 billion in 2019.

Higher cannabis and livestock receipts, together with increased program payments, more than offset rising operating expenses.

This followed a 34.2% decline in 2018, driven by sharply higher input costs and lower canola receipts.

Realized net income was up in six provinces, with Alberta (+$576 million) and Quebec (+$370 million) posting the largest increases.

Lower oilseed receipts contributed to Saskatchewan (-$307 million) and Manitoba (-$180 million) reporting the largest declines.

Realized net income is the difference between a farmer's cash receipts and operating expenses, minus depreciation, plus income in kind.

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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.