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Agriculture

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Tables

• Table 34  Average farm size
• Table 35  Farm population
• Table 36  Operating arrangements of farms, 2006
• Table 37  Net farm income
• Table 38  Average operating revenues and expenses per farm and operating margins, 2006

Chart

• Chart 11  Number and area of farms, Canada

Tables

Table 34  Average farm size

	1956	1981	2006
	hectares
Canada	122	207	295
Newfoundland and Labrador	12	49	65
Prince Edward Island	46	90	148
Nova Scotia	53	92	106
New Brunswick	55	108	142
Quebec	53	78	113
Ontario	57	73	94
Manitoba	147	259	405
Saskatchewan	246	385	587
Alberta	234	329	427
British Columbia	74	109	143
Source: Statistics Canada, censuses of agriculture.

Table 35  Farm population

	1931	1961	2001
	number
Total population1	10,363,240	18,200,621	29,914,315
Total farm population1	3,289,140	2,128,327	727,125
	%
Farm population as a percentage of total population	31.7	11.7	2.4
Note: Changes to the definition of 'farm population' affect the comparability of data among censuses.
1. Excludes Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Source: Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 95F0303XIE.

Table 36  Operating arrangements of farms, 2006

	Number	%
Total number of farms	229,373	100.0
Sole proprietorship	130,864	57.1
Partnership without a written agreement	48,430	21.1
Partnership with a written agreement	12,745	5.6
Family corporation	32,278	14.1
Non-family corporation	4,339	1.9
Other	717	0.3
Source: Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 95-632-XIE.

Table 37  Net farm income

	1986	1996	2006
	$ millions
Gross income	21,415	30,571	36,154
Total farm cash receipts including payments	20,631	29,075	36,884
Income in kind	142	168	119
Value of inventory change	642	1,328	-849
Operating expenses and depreciation charges	17,847	26,752	36,159
Operating expenses after rebates	15,097	23,021	31,568
Depreciation charges	2,750	3,731	4,591
Total net income	3,568	3,819	-6
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 002-0009.

Table 38  Average operating revenues and expenses per farm and operating margins, 2006

	Average operating revenues	Average operating expenses	Operating margins1
	dollars		cents
All farms	235,248	205,942	12.5
Grain and oilseed	161,173	133,609	17.1
Potato	767,234	645,191	15.9
Other vegetable and melon	382,482	323,864	15.3
Fruit and tree nut	185,561	156,724	15.5
Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture	916,414	828,221	9.6
Other crop	96,260	79,892	17.0
Beef cattle and feedlots	189,759	180,866	4.7
Dairy and milk production	404,827	307,529	24.0
Hog and pig	881,128	830,130	5.8
Poultry and egg	828,097	725,003	12.4
Other animal	101,333	97,958	3.3
Notes: Preliminary data. Preliminary estimates include unincorporated farms with total operating revenues of $10,000 and over, and incorporated farms with total operating revenues of $25,000 and over; they exclude communal farming organizations.
1. Defined as one dollar minus operating expenses (before depreciation) per dollar of revenue.
Source: Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 21-208-XIE.

Chart

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