The proof is in the numbers
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2002
(OTTAWA) - The 2001 agricultural census supports what Canadian farmers have been saying all along: this country faces a crisis in agriculture. According to numbers released today by Statistics Canada, this country has lost almost 30,000 farms. “Thirty thousand in five years. Now you see why Canadian farmers are saying long-term planning is not enough,” said Bob Friesen, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA). “If we don’t get bridge funding to farmers right now, before the benefits of the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) begin to accrue back to the farm gate, how many more will we lose by 2006?”
The 2001 census data shows that the number of farms in Canada has declined by 11 per cent since the last census in 1996 – the largest decline in decades, and the continuation of a five-decade trend. That means for every 10 farms operating in 1996, three are now gone. Eight of ten provinces showed declines over 10 per cent.
“This isn’t just small-scale producers – the decline is across the board,” noted Friesen. “Now look beyond the numbers. This isn’t just about an industry, this is about our entire rural economy and society. As go the farms, so go the communities.”
According to Statistics Canada data, crop farmers across the country are switching to hardier, better-priced crops in order to become more profitable. Meeting public concern about the environment, farmers applied environmentally-friendly land management practices on 60 per cent of the land tilled in Canada – double the amount in 1991. The Census shows that many of the elements of APF are already in place, from the producer standpoint – changes in business practices, environmentally friendly techniques. But in 1995 farmers spent $0.83 of every dollar they made on input costs. By 2000 this had risen to $0.87 of every dollar.
“It’s all there in the report: farmers are diversifying, they’re expanding to try and stay competitive, but so many of them just can’t overcome the barriers of rising input costs, weather-related disasters and low prices due to high foreign subsidies,” said Friesen. “The ball is in the court of the federal and provincial governments. What they do right now, in partnership with the industry, will determine how many farmers make it to the next census.”
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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.
Contact:
Kieran Green, CFA Communications Coordinator, (613) 236-3633, info@cfafca.ca
Bob Friesen, CFA President, (204) 724-0824 (cell)
Brigid Rivoire, CFA Executive Director, (613) 236-3633 / (613) 715-3113 (cell)
