Total farm cash receipts* in Alberta over the first nine months of 2023 were 7% above where things stood in September 2022 (which was already 24% higher than in September 2021).

We will have to wait until May to get an estimate of the expense side of the ledger, but it is welcome news that, at $17.6 billion, gross farming and ranching revenue in Alberta has never been higher at this point in the year.

The record was set despite lower (albeit still high) crop prices as rejuvenated marketings (i.e. quantities sold) and stronger cattle prices pushed up total revenue.

According to Statistics Canada, “the increase in marketings was due to a return to normal production levels in the 2022 crop year, following the severe drought in Western Canada in 2021.”

Crop receipts were up by 12% on a year-to-date basis compared to 18% for livestock. Receipts from direct payments such as crop insurance were down 40% after the high level of payments made in 2022 due to the drought conditions in 2021.

The 2023 crop year was not as strong as 2022, so it is expected that marketings will decline heading into 2024.

Nationally, farm cash receipts totalled $72.5 billion over the first nine months of 2023 for an increase of 8% over the same period in 2022.

*Farm cash receipts include revenues from the sale of agricultural commodities, program payments from government agencies, and payments from private crop and livestock insurance programs.

Answer to the previous trivia question: According to Google Maps, it takes longer to drive from Calgary to Vancouver (11.1 hours) than from Calgary to Fort McMurray (7.21 hours).

Today’s trivia question: What structures did French architect Le Corbusier describe as the magnificent first-fruits of the new age” in his book Towards a New Architecture?