StatsCan releases Ag Census report on Sask

 

The 2021 Census of Agriculture reports there were just over 34 thousand farms in Saskatchewan.

The break down by size; there were 4,644 farms over 3,520 acres. 1,544 farms were between 2,880 and 3,519 acres, 2,014 farms are listed in the 2,240 to 2,879 acre category with another 3,157 farms between 1,600 and 2,239 acres.

The total farmed area in Saskatchewan was just over 60.2 million acres and the average farm size is 1,766 acres.

Looking at demographics, 26,770 Saskatchewan farmers or 60.6 percent are in the 55 and over age category.

29.6 percent or 13,065 are between the ages of 35 and 54, while 4,305 or 9.8 percent are under the age of 35.

The number of female Saskatchewan farmer operators is up by about 800 between 2016 and 2021.

It now stands at 12,010—or 27.2 percent of total farm operators.

The percentage of farmers in Saskatchewan working off-farm stands at 43.6 percent.

As for the rate of technology use—Saskatchewan ranks number one in the country with 47.6 percent of farmers having auto-steer and 17.7 percent using G.I.S mapping

On a national basis, there were 189,874 farms in the Canada, down 1.9 percent.

The number of Canadian farm operators was down three-and-a-half percent to 262,455.

The average age of a Canadian farmer is 56, up one year from the last census.

Total farmed area in Canada was 153.7 million acres, down 3.2 percent.

Crops and beef operations account for about 83 percent of total farm area.

There are more farms with higher sales in Canada.

Those with sales greater than 1 million dollars rose to 9.9 percent of farms, up from 7.2 percent in the last census.

Farms reporting at least 2 million dollars in sales account for 51.5 percent of total farm operating review, up from 41.5 percent in 2016.

(with files from cjww)

More from 620 CKRM