Ottawa forecasts 20 per cent farm profit spike for 2020

OTTAWA — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is forecasting an impressive spike in net farm income for 2020.

The federal ag agency expects, when the final numbers are in, for net cash income or profit to jump from $13.5 billion Canada-wide in 2019, to a whopping $16.5 billion in 2020, an increase of over 20 per cent.

“Large increases in receipts are projected to have outpaced increases in expenses,” said Agriculture Canada in a statement, adding that the gains were largely from the grain and oilseed sectors.

But the final numbers aren’t in yet. Statistics Canada released its total farm cash receipts last month, but has yet to record expenses. Total farm cash receipts across Canada were up more than $5 billion in 2020 over 2019, according to StatCan. Ontario has the second-strongest growth in cash receipts, increasing by $1.286 billion. Saskatchewan had the best growth, taking in $2.554 billion more in farm cash receipts.