Farmers Made Record Sales In 2007

Receipts from crop sales hit a record $18.1 billion, up 25.0% over 2006 and 29.1% higher than the previous five-year average. Although grain and oilseed prices were the driving force for the increase, deliveries were strong as a result of producers drawing on their stocks to benefit from the high prices. Livestock receipts grew 1.7% to $18.1 billion, the result of higher dairy and poultry prices and increased marketings. Cattle and hog revenues declined in the wake of lower prices, while exports of live animals to the United States climbed as the economics of feeding these animals supported this movement. Livestock revenues were 3.5% above the previous five-year average. Program payments amounted to $4.1 billion, a 9.7% decline from 2006 and 9.5% below the previous five-year average. This was due in part to improved prices in the grains and oilseeds sector. Total farm cash receipts, which include crop and livestock revenues plus program payments, reached a record $40.4 billion in 2007. This level was 9.5% above 2006 and 11.8% higher than the five-year average. It was the first time that receipts surpassed the $40-billion mark. Farm cash receipts increased in all provinces except Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, where they declined, and in Nova Scotia and British Columbia, where they remained stable. Gains ranged from 3.9% in Ontario to 18.0% in Manitoba. ... High grain and oilseed prices push crop receipts to double-digit increase Grain and oilseed prices have been increasing since the fall of 2006, boosted by expansion in the bio-fuel sector. Since that time, weather-related production issues in many of the world's major producing countries have tightened supplies, pushing prices to levels not seen in recent years. Revenues from wheat (excluding durum) rose 43.4% to a record $3.2 billion in 2007. Durum receipts climbed to $962 million, up 68.2% from 2006. In both cases, the increase was the result of higher prices and Canadian Wheat Board payments, as marketings were down. Barley receipts climbed to $793 million in 2007, the highest level since 1997 and an increase of almost 80% over 2006. This rise was supported by record prices and strong deliveries, especially in the fourth quarter, as producers harvested an above-average crop in 2007. Canola revenues, which accounted for almost one-fifth of the overall crop receipts, hit a record $3.4 billion, up 37.0% from 2006. Soybean revenues reached a record high of $1.0 billion, a 49.3% gain from 2006. This surge was the result of a 25.7% rise in prices and 18.7% higher deliveries. The increasing use of corn in ethanol production drove prices 29.7% over 2006 levels, while a record crop in 2007 helped boost revenues to a record $1.0 billion. ... http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080225/d080225a.htm

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