Canada Markets

Statistics Canada released its balance sheet of the agricultural sector as of Dec. 31 this morning, with Canadian farm equity showing a healthy upward trend, as noted by the blue line on the attached chart. Farm equity in Canada is up 13% in the past year at $415.3 billion, which is also up 99% in the ten years since December 31 2004.

The value of farm assets has risen 12% in the past year, with a sharp rise of 16.8% recorded in the value of farm land as indicated by the red line on the attached chart. By province, the value of farm land has increased 17.3% in Ontario, 25% in Manitoba, 24.6% in Saskatchewan and 12.5% in Alberta.

While total farm debt has risen 8.1% to a record $73 billion, the rate of growth is much lower than seen in the increase in farm equity values. This is indicated on the attached chart by the much flatter green line which has grown in size on an annual basis for exactly 20 years.

Perhaps it's interesting to look at the estimated value for crop inventories on the Prairies, given this winter's slow movement. Total crop inventory in Canada was reported to have risen 9% to $17.9 billion as of Dec. 31, as indicated by the orange line on the attached chart, while measured against the secondary vertical axis on the right. This reflects a 51.3% increase over the 2004-2013 average.

By province, it's easy to see how Saskatchewan bore the brunt of the transportation issues faced late in 2013. Crop inventories in Saskatchewan grew 25% over the previous year to $7.6 billion, while representing 42.5% of the nation's total. Alberta's Dec. 31 crop inventory was reported at $4.9 billion, up 7% from 2012 and 27% of the Canadian total. Manitoba's crop inventory was reported at $2.2 billion, up 12.9% and representing 12.3% of the total. Ontario's Dec 31 inventory was reported at $1.9 billion, down 18% from 2012 and the lowest in three years.

Cliff Jamieson can be reached at cliff.jamieson@dtn.com

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