After declining 2024, Canadian farm cash receipts posted a small rebound in the first quarter of 2025.
A Statistics Canada farm income report Wednesday pegged total national farm cash receipts for the January-March period at $25.6 billion, up $778.6 billion or 3.1% from the same quarter the previous year. Farm cash receipts include crop and livestock returns, as well as government program payments.
In 2024, national farm cash receipts fell $1.6 billion from a year earlier to $97.9 billion, mainly due to a decline in crop returns.
The year-over-year gain in 2025 first quarter farm cash receipts was due to stronger livestock returns. On the other hand, program payments declined, while crop returns were basically unchanged.
Total livestock receipts in the first quarter were up 14% to $10.9 billion amid higher prices for most types of livestock, StatsCan said.
Cattle (+$775.9 million) and hog (+$305.8 million) receipts led the increase in the first quarter, together accounting for roughly 80% of the rise in livestock receipts. These gains were the result of higher prices for cattle and hogs, up 21.5% and 17.5%, respectively.
International exports of cattle also saw a rise in marketings, up 32.6%, “possibly due to trade policy uncertainty with the United States,” StatsCan said.
Supply-managed receipts grew 2.5% to $3.8 billion in the first quarter, representing roughly 35% of total livestock receipts.
Crop receipts in the first quarter were reported at $13.1 billion, down 0.1% from the same period in 2024. Although cash receipts for most crops increased, these gains were offset by lower deferred payments in Western Canada, StatsCan said.
Canola (+$122.1 million) and soybean (+$140 million) receipts rose on higher marketings, contributing to the overall increase in oilseed receipts.
Receipts for cereals and grains increased in the first quarter of 2025 due to higher receipts for corn (+$149 million) and durum wheat (+$58.6 million). Conversely, receipts for wheat (excluding durum) dropped by $26.9 million, which was the result of lower prices. The export price of wheat (excluding durum) fell by 4.9% in the first quarter compared with the same period the previous year.
Total direct payments dropped by $547.5 million (-25.2%) to $1.6 billion in the first quarter.
