BC farmgate sales are set to rise 2% this year to $4.8 billion, but net cash income will drop 12% due to a 24% decline in program payments. This will push total net income even further into the red, with the sector set to losing $304.9 million this year following a loss of $221.6 million last year.
The numbers are included in projections Statistics Canada released in February, and underscore the challenges farmers face entering the 2024 season.
While several uncertainties make the year-end outlook tough to predict, Statscan says the weaker performance in BC is associated with lower crop receipts and small program payments even as expenses continue to rise.
BC is the sole province singled out as experiencing this triple-whammy of falling receipts, lower program payments and rising expenses.
While not mentioned by Statscan, crop receipts in particular are set to be affected by the January freeze event which impacted a swathe of the horticulture sector, and ongoing drought conditions which threaten to reduce forage yields and in turn raise costs for ranchers.
The circumstances have increased the importance of off-farm income to producers.
While the net operating income families received from their farm businesses last year rose 8.4% versus a year earlier, Statscan forecasts a 4.5% drop this year to an average of $48,961 per farm family. The decline will be offset by a 5% increase in other family income to $158,813.
Total income will rise 2.6% to an average of $207,774 per farm family.
Domestic labour gap grows