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By Alice McFarlane

2021 Census of Agriculture

Fewer farms, older farmers highlight the Census of Agriculture

May 11, 2022 | 3:09 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – Statistics Canada released the results of the 2021 Census of Agriculture.

The information shows emerging trends and issues faced by farm operators in Canada. Some of the information includes data on industry consolidation and aging of farm operators. Producers also answered questions on technology adoption, renewable energy production, use of direct marketing solutions, and sustainable farming practices.

Matt Shumsky is an analyst in the Agriculture Division at Statistics Canada.

He said from 2016 to 2021, farm operations demonstrated their resiliency and adaptiveness in a time that has been characterized by trade disputes, labor shortages because of the COVID 19 pandemic and increased frequency of extreme weather events.

“What we’re seeing is that there’s a lot of consistency and a stabilizing data trend in the inventories and acreage of agricultural commodities and that really speaks to the stability of the agriculture industry,” Shumsky said.

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The census counted 189,874 farms, a moderate decrease of 1.9 per cent from 2016. Farms classified as oilseed and grain continue to make up the largest proportion of farms in Canada. In 2021, there were 65,135 oilseed and grain farms, accounting for 34.3 per cent of total farms. This was followed by beef and feedlots at 20.9 per cent. Meanwhile, 82.7 per cent of total farm area was accounted for by these two sectors, totalling 127.1 million acres.

Continuing the trend of farm consolidation from the previous census, the proportion of farms in the top two sales classes increased, while the number of smaller farms declined. The proportion of farms with sales of $1 million or more in 2020 was 9.9 per cent, up from 7.2 per cent in 2015.

The aging of Canadian farmers is not new. Data indicated that the median age was 41.6 years which is up from 41.2 years in 2016 and 33.1 per cent of Canadian producers were at least 55 years old.

The average age of Canada’s farm operators increased by one year, to 56 years in 2021. Meanwhile, the median age of farm operators rose by two years from the previous census, reaching 58 years in 2021. The proportion of farm operators aged 55 and older grew by six percentage points from the previous census.

The aging of Canadian farmers may have caused some farm operators to consider succession plans for their farms. In 2021, 6,673 more farms reported having a succession plan than in 2016. The proportion of farms in Canada reporting a succession plan increased from 8.4 per cent in 2016 to 12 per cent in 2021.

Industry consolidation and aging of farmers have led to fewer farms and farm operators. The number of farms dropped by 1.9 per cent from 2016. There was a 3.5 per cent decline in the number of farm operators.

At the same time, the number of female operators increased for the first time since 1991. In 2021, there were 79,795 female farm operators, up from 77,970 in 2016. In 2021, 30.4 per cent of total farm operators were female.

In response to the growing demand for organic products, the number of farms that reported producing organic products increased 31.9 per cent. These farms made up three per cent of total farms in 2021.

Technology use is another growing trend in the agriculture industry. Technologies that became more prominent include automated guidance steering systems and geographic information system mapping.

As was the case in 2016, canola remained the top crop acreage in Canada, despite a ban from China that restricted total canola exports from Canada in 2018 and 2019.

The pandemic posed many challenges to the Canadian livestock sector from 2020 to 2021. One of the more significant challenges was the early shutdown of meat processing facilities in an effort to contain outbreaks of COVID-19. A labour shortage further challenged the meat processing industry. Cattle and calf inventories increased with 12.6 million total cattle reported.

More farm operators are turning to off-farm work. The number of farm operators working off the farm increased by 3.8 per cent from the previous census.

It will be difficult to compare some data from the previous census as the definition of a farm has changed.

Statistics Canada chief responsible for the Census of Agriculture Erin Kumar said the new definition takes into account any agricultural operation that is producing agricultural goods and reporting revenues or expenses to the Canada Revenue Agency.

“In previous years the definition included anyone who had an intention to sell agricultural products in that year,” Kumar said. “What this change means is that users should look at the data with caution when comparing because farms may be classified differently across farm types in 2021, as compared to previous censuses.”

The entire 2021 Census of Agriculture can be viewed here.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW