For the first time in its history, the 2016 Statistics Canada Agriculture Census included a three-part question that looked at farm direct marketing.
According to the census, about 12.6 per cent of all farms in Canada reported selling agricultural products directly to consumers. This ratio is much higher than compared to the USA which sits at about 6.9 per cent.
Compared to the national percentage, Alberta has a slightly lower per cent of farms with value-added products sold (10 per cent vs 14 per cent) and using farm gate sales, stands, kiosks, or U-pick (85 per cent vs 89 per cent).
The province of Alberta was divided into 19 census divisions (CD). Not surprisingly, the sections with the highest populations (Calgary CD6, Edmonton CD11) had more direct sales farms than the other CDs. CD6 totalled 265, while CD11 had 264.
Together, the two CDs contain about 25 per cent of the province’s direct marketing farms.
In terms of population growth since 2011, both divisions with Edmonton and Calgary experienced a 14 per cent growth, 8 per cent for the CD with Lethbridge and 10 per cent for Grande Prairie.
The next issue of Field Notes will feature a complete analysis of the data obtained by Statistics Canada.
You can also find the complete study on the StatsCan website.
Source : Agriculture and Forestry