Net cash income on Canadian farms was up more than 34 percent in 2004 compared with the previous year, but was still slightly below the five-year average, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. Statscan said farmers' gross revenues exceeded their operating expenses by C$6.3 billion ($5 billion) in 2004, compared with C$4.7 billion in 2003. The cost of fuel, wages, equipment repairs and other expenses rose 1.6 percent to C$30.2 billion, Statscan said. But revenues from crops and livestock rose 6.1 percent to C$36.5 billion. Bigger crops and higher prices for hogs offset poor revenues for cattle, Statscan said.
Cattle revenues declined to C$5.1 billion, the lowest level since 1996, because of poor prices due to ongoing trade bans since Canada discovered its first case of mad cow disease in 2003.
Government aid reached a record C$4.9 billion, up 0.8 percent from the previous year. In Saskatchewan, Canada's largest crop-growing province, net cash income was C$84 million, up 4.7 percent from the previous year, but more than 35 percent below the five-year average.
Farmers in Saskatchewan have endured the two poorest years since 1973, Statscan said. In the first quarter of 2005, gross revenues before expenses for Canadian farmers increased by 3.4 percent over the same quarter last year to a record C$9.4 billion, Statscan said.
Livestock revenues rebounded almost 7 percent to C$4.5 billion, but crop revenues fell 10.3 percent to C$3.3 billion, reflecting lower prices for a poor-quality crop and slow farmer sales.
Farmers received record government aid for the quarter of C$1.6 billion, up one-third from the same quarter last year and 75 percent above the five-year average, Statscan said.