January-September Farm Cash Receipts Up Nearly 8%

Farm cash receipts through the first three quarters of 2023 were up from a year earlier as gains in crop and livestock returns outpaced a decline in government payments. 

Statistics Canada on Tuesday reported farm cash receipts for January through September at $72.5 billion. That is up 7.9% from the same period a year earlier but continues a downward trend from earlier in the year. Through the first quarter of this year, farm cash receipts were up almost 16% from the same quarter in 2022, a gain that cooled to less than 10% by the end of the second quarter. 

Crop receipts through the first three quarters of 2023 amounted to $41.4 billion, up 12.1% or $4.5 billion from a year earlier, while livestock returns climbed $2.2 billion or 8.9% to $27.2 billion. On the other hand, program payments declined $1.4 billion to $4 billion amid a fall in crop insurance payouts. 

Every province recorded a rise in total receipts. Saskatchewan posted the strongest growth, with total receipts up $2.3 billion to $16.5 billion, accounting for over 40% of the national increase. Alberta receipts climbed 7% to $17.5 billion, while Manitoba receipts gained 8.4% to $7.5 billion. At $15.5 billion, total farm receipts through the first three quarters of the year in Ontario were up 3.4% compared to the same period a year earlier. 

Higher marketings for canola (+40.1%), wheat (excluding durum) (+31.1%) and durum wheat (+73%) drove the increase in national crop receipts in the January-September period. The increase in marketings was due to a return to normal production levels in the 2022 crop year, following the severe drought in Western Canada in 2021, StatsCan said. 

However, crop prices were lower. In the first three quarters of 2023, prices fell 15.5% for canola, 8.9% for wheat (excluding durum) and 17.9% for durum wheat, although they were still higher than their respective five-year averages. 

Meanwhile, a $1.8-billion increase in cattle receipts to $9.8 billion contributed to more than 80% of the total increase in livestock receipts in the January-September period. Cattle receipts were up due to a rise in prices in both cattle slaughter (+28.2%) and international exports (+24%), StatsCan said. 

In contrast, an 11.8% decrease in price led to an 11.2% drop in hog receipts to $4.5 billion, despite a small increase in marketings.  

Supply-managed receipts grew 7.2% to $11.2 billion and accounted for just over 40% of total livestock receipts. Dairy receipts were up $312.2 million to $6.4 billion on the strength of higher prices driven by production cost increases. Both marketings and prices pushed receipts for chickens for meat up $286.4 million to $3.1 billion.