Alberta reported 41,505 farms in the 2021 Census of Agriculture, covering 49.2 million acres. The province combined a large livestock sector with major grain, oilseed and forage production, while 2023 brought record farm cash receipts and farm capital valued at $213.1 billion. These Alberta agriculture statistics use the measurement periods stated by Statistics Canada and the Government of Alberta, so census, inventory, production and financial figures should not be treated as a single-year snapshot.
Contents
- Farm counts, types and land base
- Crop area and production
- Livestock inventories
- Receipts, expenses and farm income
- Farm assets, stewardship and technology
- Operators, off-farm work and succession
Farm counts, types and land base
Alberta’s farm count increased 2.1% between 2016 and 2021. The province accounted for 21.9% of all Canadian farms in 2021. The 2021 total was measured in the Census of Agriculture, rather than in an annual farm-establishment survey. Statistics Canada, “Alberta has the highest farm operating revenues in Canada” provides the census comparison and farm-type breakdown.
Beef farming and feedlots represented 14,601 Alberta farms in 2021. Oilseed and grain farming represented 13,942 farms, while other crop farming represented 6,555 farms. These categories describe farm counts by reported farm type; they do not mean that every farm produced only one commodity.
The province reported 49.2 million acres of total farm area in 2021, a 2.2% decrease from 2016. The distribution of that land was concentrated in two broad farm groups:
| Farm type | Share of Alberta’s total farm area, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Oilseed and grain farms | 46.4% |
| Beef and feedlot farms | 39.6% |
Together, oilseed and grain farms and beef and feedlot farms accounted for 86.0% of Alberta’s total farm area in 2021. The figures show why Alberta’s agricultural profile cannot be summarized by farm count alone: the largest farm groups also occupied most of the reported land base, although the source presents their shares separately rather than as a measure of individual-farm size.
Crop area and production
Alberta farms reported 25.6 million acres of hay and field crops in 2021. That was 27.6% of Canada’s hay and field-crop area. The 2021 census area figures identify a substantial canola, wheat and barley base:
- Canola covered 6,685,992 acres. Alberta’s canola area was 8.4% higher in 2021 than in 2016.
- Spring wheat covered 5,709,845 acres.
- Barley covered 3,950,591 acres, representing 47.5% of Canada’s barley area.
Area and production are different measures. The census provides the 2021 land-area figures, while the Alberta government’s 2023 crop review reports tonnes produced in the 2023 crop season. Total Alberta field-crop production, including forages, was 28.9 million tonnes in 2023, down 15.8% from 2022. Excluding forages, production was 22.6 million tonnes, down 15.4% from 2022. Alberta 2023 Crop Season in Review reports the production comparison.
The crop-specific 2023 results were also mixed. Alberta produced 8.4 million tonnes of spring wheat, down 15.3% from 2022. Durum wheat production was 708,900 tonnes, down 40.7%. Barley production was 4.7 million tonnes, down 12.3%, while oat production was 642,115 tonnes, down 39.1%. Canola production was 5.4 million tonnes, down 3.5% from 2022. These are production estimates for 2023 and should not be read as direct yields calculated from the 2021 planted-area figures.
Livestock inventories
Alberta farms held 4,785,000 cattle and calves on January 1, 2024, down 1.7% year over year. The inventory date matters: these figures describe animals on farms at the start of January, not annual marketings or average inventory during 2024. January 1, 2024 livestock inventory estimates - Alberta/Canada identifies the livestock figures as inventory estimates.
Within the cattle total, Alberta held 1,555,600 beef cows, down 0.1% from a year earlier, and 80,700 milk cows, down 0.4%. Beef-replacement heifers numbered 235,200, down 7.8%. Steers aged one year and older numbered 743,000, up 0.9%, while calves under one year numbered 1,552,300, down 4.2%.
Other livestock inventories on January 1, 2024 were 1,530,000 pigs, unchanged from a year earlier, and 170,100 sheep and lambs, down 2.0%. Alberta’s pig-breeding inventory was 116,700 head, down 6.5%. Market lambs numbered 44,700, down 2.0%. The year-over-year movements differ across categories, so the unchanged pig total, for example, does not imply an unchanged breeding inventory.
Receipts, expenses and farm income
Alberta farm cash receipts reached a record $23.3 billion in 2023, up 4.8% from 2022. Livestock market receipts were $10.6 billion, up 18.2%, while crop market receipts were $10.5 billion. Livestock and crop market receipts together totaled $21.2 billion. Farm program payments were $2.1 billion, down 24.4% from 2022. These components are reported in Agriculture Facts, the Government of Alberta’s 2024 facts publication.
Operating costs also reached a record in 2023. Alberta farm operating expenses were $17.4 billion, up 3.8% from 2022. Livestock and poultry purchases cost producers $2.3 billion, up 41.9%. Fertilizer and lime expenses were $2.1 billion, down 20.2%. The opposing changes illustrate why receipts alone do not describe farm profitability.
Several income measures were reported for 2023, and they are not interchangeable. Net cash income reached $6.0 billion, up 7.9% from 2022. Realized net income was $3.5 billion, up 11.9%. Total net income was $2.7 billion, down 54.8%. Each measure has its own accounting scope, so the percentage changes should be retained with the named measure rather than combined into a single income trend.
The wider agri-food economy included $24.3 billion in Alberta food-manufacturing sales in 2023. Food-manufacturing sales are an industry sales measure, not farm cash receipts, and should be kept separate from the farm-sector figures above.
Farm assets, stewardship and technology
Alberta total farm capital was valued at $213.1 billion on July 1, 2023, up 7.3% from 2022. This is a point-in-time capital valuation, distinct from annual receipts, expenses and income. The valuation and the 2023 financial measures are both reported in Agriculture Facts.
The 2020 census measures show how farms reported selected stewardship practices. Rotational grazing was reported by 30.5% of Alberta farms, and in-field winter grazing or feeding by 28.9%. Windbreaks or shelterbelts were much more common, reported by 69.6% of farms. These percentages describe farms reporting each practice; they do not measure the acreage covered or the environmental effect of the practice.
Technology and energy adoption were reported for different census years. In 2020, automated guidance steering systems were used by 31.1% of Alberta farms, while drones were used by 4.2%. In 2021, solar energy production was reported by 8.7% of farms, and renewable energy production of any type by 10.2%. The “any type” measure includes solar and therefore should not be added to the solar percentage.
Operators, off-farm work and succession
Succession planning became more common between the two census points. A succession plan was reported by 14.0% of Alberta farms in 2021, up from 8.5% in 2016. Alberta farms accounted for 25.4% of Canadian farms reporting a succession plan in 2021. Oilseed and grain farms made up 43.7% of Alberta farms reporting a succession plan. The source does not state that every farm had a plan, and the 14.0% figure is the relevant Alberta share.
Female operators represented 32.4% of Alberta farm operators in 2021, up from 30.8% in 2016. Operator shares are not the same as the percentage of farms led by women, because a farm can have more than one operator.
Off-farm work was reported by 49.0% of Alberta farm operators in 2020, up from 47.3% in 2015. Among Alberta operators reporting off-farm work, 15.5% worked 40 hours or more per week off the farm in 2020. The second figure is conditional on reporting off-farm work, so it should not be interpreted as 15.5% of all Alberta farm operators.
These operator and succession statistics complement the production and financial measures. The 2021 census describes the farm population and land base, the 2023 Alberta reports describe crop and financial conditions, and the January 1, 2024 inventory estimates describe livestock at a specific date. Keeping those scopes and periods separate is essential when using Alberta agriculture statistics for comparison or planning.