The Hill: The travails of the Ontario farm economy

With Ontario farm families surviving mainly on off-farm income, farmers are in a cranky mood, but the view from Ottawa is that lack of provincial support is to blame

by BARRY WILSON

By the numbers, the Ontario farm economy is one sick puppy.

Farm income projections prepared by Ottawa and approved by the provincial government predict that, this year, average net operating farm income will be just $22,484 per farm, one of the lowest levels in the country. That is down 40 per cent from 2008 levels.

On a provincial level and taking depreciation charges into account, realized net farm income in Canada’s largest agricultural economy is projected to be a negative $457 million this year.

Better Farming - June/July 2010