OTTAWA — Ontario farm cash receipts for the first quarter of 2019 were down slightly compared to 2018, but January to March was still the second-highest first quarter of all time, according to Statistics Canada.
StatCan says provincial farm cash receipts for January to March of this year were $2.811 billion, down from last year’s record-breaking $2.820 billion.
Total crop receipts dropped slightly from $1.151 billion to $1.142 billion. Soybean cash receipts fell from $335 million to $301 million, while corn receipts fell from $324 million to $296 million.
Cannabis seeds, vegetative plants and flowering tops was Ontario’s fourth largest crop by cash receipts in the first three months of 2019, according to StatCan. The sector had farm cash receipts of $116 million in the first three months of this year, up from $50 million in the first three months of 2018.
Livestock and livestock product receipts decreased slightly from $1.582 billion to $1.576 billion. However, there were increased cash receipts for sheep, unprocessed cow milk, chicken for meat, egg and natural honey.
