Farm income fell in 2024 and is expected to fall again, though more moderately, in 2025. Net cash income (NCI) – cash receipts minus operating expenses – dropped 14.9 per cent in 2024, to $19.7 billion, from the record $23.1 billion recorded in 2023. This decline was driven by a 6.2 per cent drop in crop receipts as grain and oilseed prices weakened, while expense growth was comparatively modest (+2.4 per cent). Realized net income, which also accounts for depreciation, fell more sharply (-25.9 per cent, to $9.4 billion), the largest percentage decline since 2018. For 2025, AAFC's most recent farm income forecast (Summer 2025, based on conditions and data as of June 2025) projects a further 6.0 per cent decline in NCI.
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Round 1 of 5 · Response: the bottom line
Question Period note: farm income
Officials at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada wrote this note to prepare the Minister of Agriculture for Question Period on farm income, in fall 2025.
One of these was written by a public servant, the other by an AI model given the same documents. Which one did the person write?
Generally, overall income has remained strong in recent years, as increasing global crop prices in 2021 and 2022, and higher crop marketings and strong cattle prices in 2023, helped offset the elevated input costs. Overall, expense growth in 2024 was much more moderate, increasing only 2.4 per cent, however incomes fell as grain receipts continued to decline. Higher incomes from 2020 to 2023 have put most farms in solid financial positions such that weathering a period of lower prices and incomes is possible. While the overall financial situation is solid, the economic impacts of these changes have not been evenly distributed between sectors or regions, and the situation for many producers may be different.