Farms in Canada are being consolidated as older farmers retire. Fewer young people are going into farming, according to government statistics.
Photo Credit: PC / Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press

Older farmers, fewer farms in Canada

The number of farms in Canada is dropping, their size is growing, and the average age of farmers is increasing, according to government statistics.

In 2011 there were 205,730 farms and that was a decline of over 74,000 since 1991. The average size of a farm increased from 80 hectares to 315. Previous reports have indicated large corporations are buying up farmland in Canada.

The average age of farmers increased from 47.5 years to 54 years. More than half of all farms were operated by people over 55 years old in 2011 compared to less than 38 per cent in 1991. Fewer than one in 10 farms were run by someone under 40 years old.

The trends affect all provinces and shows no signs of reversing.

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