Ontario farms have decreased by 4.2 per cent since 2001 says Statistics Canada in its recently published Census of Agriculture.

As of May 2006 the census counted 57,211 farms in Ontario. This is a decline of 10,309 since the last census in 2001. A farm, defined by the census, is an agriculture operation that produces an agriculture product intended for sale.

Ontario is still the leader in farms in Canada as it accounts for one-quarter Canada’s farms. However, Ontario also experienced a 3.1 per cent decline in farm operators.

Farms in Ontario averaged 233 acres of land, which is up from five years earlier when the average was 226 acres. Despite the growth of the average size of land, total farmland in Ontario declined 1.5 per cent to 13.3 million acres.

Cropland was slightly up from 2001 as Ontario farmers reported nine million acres. For census purposes, cropland was defined as the total area in field crops, fruits, vegetables, sod, and nursery.

Operating expenses for farmers hit $8.8 billion across the province, while Ontario’s gross farm receipts were $10.3 billion. Government programs and farmers contributing to programs by paying premiums were reason for the $10.3 billion in receipts.

Another trend was the emergence of organic farms and farms with organic production. There were 3,591 organic producing farms in Ontario, which accounts for 6.3 per cent of all farms in the province.

In addition for the first time, the 2006 Census allowed farmers to identify the status of organic products. 16.5 percent of farms produced certified organic products, 4.1 per cent said they were in transition to becoming certified and 83.2 produced non-certified organic products. The most common organic crop in Ontario was hay or field crops.

Ontario leads the country in other areas. Ontario has the largest share of corn acreage, growing 55.2 per cent of all corn grown in Canada. Ontario also ranks first in winter wheat production, Ginseng, vegetables, greenhouse and nursery area, and dairy cows.