16°c Overcast
10°c Light rain
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Manitoba's smaller farms disappearing as consolidation speeds up
A worker with Keller Farms tills a field southwest of Shilo, Manitoba. Farms in the province are consolidating at a higher rate than elsewhere in Canada. (TIM SMITH / BRANDON SUN ARCHIVES)
WINNIPEG — Manitoba farmers are consolidating their operations at one of the fastest paces in the country, according to new census numbers released today.
Statistics Canada said that between 2006 and 2011, Manitoba not only posted the biggest decline in the number of farms, at 16.7 per cent, but also the second biggest increase in the size of the average farm, at 13.4 per cent.
It said the tend towards farm consolidation was evident in every province except Nova Scotia, where the number of farms rose by 2.9 per cent since 2006.
Nova Scotia was also one of only two provinces — Newfoundland and Labrador was the other — to see its farms shrink in size during that period.
Manitoba was also one of 10 provinces to see the amount of farmland shrink during the same five-year period. Its 5.5 per cent decline, to just over 18 million acres, was the third biggest after Newfoundland and Labrador’s 13.5 per cent and British Columbia’s 7.9 per cent.
Nationally, Statistics Canada said the number of farms in Canada has dropped by about 23,000, or 10.3 per cent, since 2006. And consolidation led to a nearly seven per cent spike in the size of the average Canadian farm.
The data also suggest Canada’s farmers are re-evaluating the types the type of farming they do. Statistics Canada said the industry used to be evenly split between beef and grain, but the latest numbers show a drop in the number of beef farmers and a spike in the number of grain operations.
It said grain and oilseed operations now account for 30 per cent of all Canadian farms, compared with 26.9 per cent in 2006. The number of beef farms fell to 18.2 per cent from 26.3 per cent.
— with files by Canadian Press
murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 32 articles for today)
City hall working despite Toronto mayor's 'crack cocaine' scandal, deputy says
12:02 PM 0View Related
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Woman run over three times by her own car
- Drug dealer sentenced to 3½ years in prison
- Abrupt departure for Mayor Rob Ford's chief of staff amid 'crack video' scandal
- Bridge collapse survivor who fell in river: 'You hold on as tight as you can'
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- Ottawa threatens 'retaliatory measures' over new U.S. meat labelling regulations
- 'I told them, "I think that guy downstairs is dead"': teen witness at murder trial
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Winnipeg woman camps out in front of legislature to protest child welfare
- 2 dead in crash near Portage la Prairie
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Two men now facing first-degree murder charges in Tim Bosma test drive death
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Lake St. Martin reserve close to getting new home
- 'I told them, "I think that guy downstairs is dead"': teen witness at murder trial
- Jockey club launches $350-M civil suit against province
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group Accelero Capital
- Fire crews kept busy battling south Winnipeg, Point Douglas fires
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Skin picking gets status as distinct disorder, should help sufferers access help
- Order of Manitoba recipients announced
- New owner for lumber stores
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.