The dust has settled on last year’s farm income data and it was, despite skyrocketing operating costs, a good year for the sector in Alberta.

The realized net income* of Alberta farmers increased by 2.6% ($82.8 million) in 2022 to reach an all-time high of $3.3 billion.

Thanks to favourable yields and soaring prices, it was a record year for cash receipts at $22.3 billion (up 19.1% from 2021). This was, however, offset by two additional records: operating expenses, which hit $16.6 billion (+24.7%), and depreciation charges of $2.4 billion (+9.5%).

It was a different story nationally, with realized net income in Canada down by 9.5% in 2022.

National cash receipts hit a record high of $95 billion (+14.8%), but after expenses and depreciation, realized net income was down by $1.3 billion compared to 2021.

Realized net income was negative or down in six of the ten provinces.

Saskatchewan had the highest realized net income of any province at $4.5 billion last year (Alberta had the second highest), but this was 19.7% lower than the record set in 2021.

*Realized net income is the difference between a farmer's cash receipts and operating expenses, minus depreciation, plus income in kind. Realized net income can vary widely from farm to farm because of several factors, including the farm's mix of commodities, prices, weather and economies of scale. This and other aggregate measures of farm income are calculated on a provincial basis employing the same concepts used to measure the performance of the overall Canadian economy. They are measures of farm business income, not farm household income.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The Surge is the name of the new team from Calgary playing its first season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).

Today’s trivia question: What percentage of Canada’s total farm cash receipts in 2022 was generated in Alberta?