Notes
Census farm
An operation is considered a census farm (agricultural operation) if it produces at least one of the following products intended for sale:
- Crops: Hay, field crops, tree fruits or nuts, berries or grapes, vegetables, seed
- Livestock: Cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, game animals, other livestock
- Poultry: Hens, chickens, turkeys, chicks, game birds, other poultry
- Animal products: Milk or cream, eggs, wool, furs, meat
- Other agricultural products: Christmas trees, sod, greenhouse, or nursery products, mushrooms, honey or bees, maple syrup and its products
The data for the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories are not included in the national totals because of the different definition of an agricultural operation in the territories and confidentiality constraints. The data for the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories are presented separately.
Certified organic
An operation or products are referred to as "certified organic" when certification has taken place. Certification refers to the procedure whereby a certification body accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency provides written assurance that products and production systems conform to specified requirements. Certification may be based on a range of inspection activities including verification of management practices, auditing of quality assurance systems and in/out production balances. (Source: Canada Organic Office Operating Manual)
Transitional organic
Transitional organic refers to those who were in the process of undertaking the three-year process of having all or part of their operations certified organic at the time of the 2011 Census of Agriculture.
Gross farm receipts
The Census of Agriculture measures gross farm receipts for the calendar or accounting year prior to the census.
Gross farm receipts (before deducting expenses) in this analysis include:
- receipts from all agricultural products sold
- program payments and custom work receipts.
The following are not included in gross farm receipts:
- sales of forestry products (for example: firewood, pulpwood, logs, fence posts and pilings)
- sales of capital items (for example: quota, land, machinery)
- receipts from the sale of any goods purchased only for retail sales.
Total operating expenses
The Census of Agriculture measures operating expenses for the calendar or accounting year prior to the census.
Total operating expenses includes:
- any expense associated with producing agricultural products (such as the cost of seed, feed, fuel, fertilizers, etc.)
The following are not included in total operating expenses:
- the purchase of land, buildings or equipment
- depreciation or capital cost allowance. Depreciation represents economic "wear and tear" expense. Capital cost allowance represents the amount of depreciation written off by the tax filer as allowed by tax regulations.
2005 to 2010
Some data refer to a reference period other than Census Day. For example, for financial data the reference period is the calendar or accounting (fiscal) year prior to the census.
Program payments
Direct program payments to producers represent the amounts paid under various government agricultural programs to agriculture producers. Farmers themselves contribute to many of these programs by paying premiums much like any insurance plan.
Farm type
Farm type is established through a procedure that classifies each census farm according to the predominant type of production. This is done by estimating the potential receipts from the inventories of crops and livestock reported on the questionnaire and determining the product or group of products that make up the majority of the estimated receipts. For example, a census farm with total potential receipts of 60% from hogs, 20% from beef cattle and 20% from wheat, would be classified as a hog and pig farm. The farm types presented in this document are derived based on the 2007 North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). The chart below shows how these derived farm types relate to NAICS.
| Census of Agriculture derived categories | NAICS five-digit classes |
|---|---|
| Dairy | Dairy cattle and milk production |
| Beef | Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots |
| Hog and pig | Hog and pig farming |
| Poultry and egg | Chicken egg production |
| Broiler and other meat-type chicken production | |
| Turkey production | |
| Poultry hatcheries | |
| Combination poultry and egg production | |
| All other poultry production | |
| Sheep and goat | Sheep farming |
| Goat farming | |
| Other animal | Apiculture |
| Horse and other equine production | |
| Fur-bearing animal and rabbit production | |
| Animal combination farming | |
| All other miscellaneous animal production | |
| Oilseed and grain | Soybean farming |
| Oilseed (except soybean) farming | |
| Dry pea and bean farming | |
| Wheat farming | |
| Corn farming | |
| Other grain farming | |
| Vegetable and melon | Potato farming |
| Other vegetable (except potato) and melon farming | |
| Fruit and tree-nut | Fruit and tree nut farming |
| Greenhouse and nursery | Mushroom production |
| Other food crops grown under cover | |
| Nursery and tree production | |
| Floriculture production | |
| Other crop | Tobacco farming |
| Hay farming | |
| Fruit and vegetable combination farming | |
| Maple syrup and products production | |
| All other miscellaneous crop farming |
Farm operator
According to the census, a farm operator is any person responsible for the management decisions made for an agricultural operation as of May 10, 2011. Totals may not equal the sum of their parts due to the use of conversion factors or rounding of fractions to whole numbers.
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