Agriculture census shows trend to more crop variety

JOHN COTTER

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Fewer and slightly older Canadian producers are planting more cropland on larger farms and are making stable profits.

That’s the general overview of the 2016 Census of Agriculture released Wednesday.

Statistics Canada said urbanization is reducing cropland in some areas, but farmers have been converting some land formerly used as pasture, which led to a net increase.

Canola continues to be Canada’s mostplanted commodity, accounting for more than one-fifth of all cropland.

There are more oilseed and grain farms, but the trend in some areas is for farmers to grow a wider variety of crops.

“We actually have two success stories: Soybeans have doubled over the past 15 years and lentils have tripled,” said Ellen Bekkering, project manager for the census.

The size of beef cattle herds decreased from 2011 and the number of operations reporting beef cattle declined about 12 per cent. Statistics Canada attributes the decline to a spike in prices that prompted some producers to sell off herds and get out of the business.

The area of hay and alfalfa declined by more than a million hectares, while pasture area also went down due in part to the smaller beef herd. Some of the land has been converted to other crops.

Milk production was up — thanks to better animal nutrition, genetics and production practices — despite a decrease in the number of dairy cows.

Hog production also increased due to higher prices. There was also a jump in the number of farms raising hens and chickens.

The census report calls blueberries, cranberries and greenhouse vegetables bright spots in the horticulture sector. More land is being used to grow crops in greenhouses, especially in Ontario.

“From 2011 to 2016, Ontario saw almost no change in the number of operations in the province, but a 29.8 per cent increase in the area dedicated to greenhouse vegetables.”

The census counted 271,935 farm operators, down from 293,925 in 2011. The average age of a farmer was 55, up slightly from the last census.