Farmers see record cash receipts in 2019

OTTAWA — Ontario farmers earned $3.62 billion in farm cash receipts in the third quarter of 2019 and also the best third-quarter on record, according to Statistics Canada.

Farm cash receipts over the same three months last year was $3.32 billion.
In the first three quarters (January to September) of 2019, Ontario farmers had record-high farm cash receipts of $10.2 billion, up from $9.6 billion in the first three quarters of 2018. This was led by record highs in both crop and livestock receipts.

However, record farm cash receipts don’t necessarily mean record profits, said Mark Huston, Dairy Farmers of Ontario Kent County director. Once you factor in expenses, “It strikes me more as an average (profit) year rather than a record year,” he said.

Statistics Canada will report on annual profit early in 2020.

Last year’s high yields could be one of the reasons behind higher cash receipts this year, Huston said. Plus, last year saw low prices, which rose this spring during the tough planting, which helped lead to higher cash receipts. “Prices weren’t at a peak or bottom,” he said.

Ontario farm profit for 2018 was $270 million, way down from $1.1 billion in 2017 and the record high of $1.38 billion in 2013. Last year’s profit (or net income) was the lowest since 2009 and the first time in seven years that total net income fell below $1 billion.