Statistics Canada reports lower income for farmers
Saskatchewan farmers are seeing less income, according to a new report released by Statistics Canada this week.
The province's farmers saw a 22 per cent decrease in total net income from 2016-2017, with nearly a billion dollar decrease from the previous year.
Canada as a whole saw a 2.5 per cent decline, the first country-wide downturn since 2013 and only the second decrease since 2009.
Four provinces besides Saskatchewan saw decreases: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.
The decline is partially because durum crops in the province saw a 37 per cent decrease in production and sales, the report said.
The province saw a 1.3 per cent increase in operational expenses, the lowest increase since 2010.
Saskatchewan is one of the top suppliers of pulse crops, such as lentils and peas, in the world.
"Exports of lentils and dried peas weakened significantly in 2017," said Gail-Anne Breese, an analyst with Statistics Canada
"The biggest reason for the decline was because of lentil and dried peas receipts. Both marketing and pricing were down."
A 60 per cent tariff imposed by India has caused farmers to lose income and think about their next yield, she said.
Farming in Saskatchewan has been a challenge in recent years due to extreme weather. Dealing with the uncertainty of drought has affected the outcome of many crops.
In 2016, higher than average rainfall in southern Saskatchewan gave farmers a short window to seed their land.
Then in 2017, severe drought conditions hampered the seeding process for many farmers.
Much of southern Saskatchewan recorded less than 100 millimetres of rainfall from April to July in 2017.
"Consequently the stocks on farms were a lot lower," said Breese.
"The total income can swing quite a bit depending on production years and how much the producer sells of that particular commodity."
