Agriculture - Facts and Figures

  • Native pasture land - 930,000 acres of native pasture within the County of Newell.
  • Irrigated land - 282,000 acres via a system of canals and pipelines fed by water diverted from the Bow River at the Bassano Dam located west of Bassano. The system is operated by the Eastern Irrigation District.
  • Dry land cropland - 60,000 acres
  • Total Gross Farm Receipts (2006) - 490,297,044 (5% of Alberta total)
  • Output: primarily cash crops and livestock feed (wheat, alfalfa, barley, canola, hay), limited (21 acres) vegetable (tomato, cucumber, green peas), limited (43 acres) berry crops (saskatoon, strawberry, raspberry), nursery products (83 acres), honey (32,000 gallons - 36% of Alberta production)

     

    Farms By Total Farm Area (2006)

       # of farms
    		 % of total
    Under 129 acres
    		 133  16.5
    130 to 239 acres
    		 120  14.9
    240 to 559 acres
    		 231 28.7
    560 to 759 acres
    		 78 9.7
    760 to 1,119 acres 78 9.7
    1,120 to 1,599 acres 47 5.8
    1,600 to 2,239 acres 27 3.3
    Over 2,240 acres 102 12.7
    Total number of farms reporting 806 100
    Source: Statistics Canada 2006 Census of Agriculture

    Characteristics of Farm Operators (2006)

       #
    		 %
    Age - under 35 years
    		 100  8.5
    Age - 35 to 54 years
    		 655  55.7
    Age - over 55 years
    		 425 36.2
    Average age of operators
    		 51.5  
    (Alberta - 52.2)
    		    
    Number of operators - female
    		 345 28.5
    Number of operators - male
    		 845 71.1
    Total number of operators reporting
    		 1175 100
    Source: Statistics Canada 2006 Census of Agriculture

    		  

    Farms by Total Gross Farm Receipts (2006)

      # of farms
    		 % of total
    Under $9,999
    		 71 8.8
    $10,000 to $49,999 190 23.6
    $50,000 to $99,999 143 17.7
    $100,000 to $249,999 216 26.8
    $250,000 to $499,999 111 13.8
    Over $500,000 75 9.3
    Total number of farms reporting 806 100
      Source: Statistics Canada 2006 Census of Agriculture

    Crop Area/Livestock (2006)

      # of acres / #animals
    Spring wheat (excluding durum)
    		 90,985
    Alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures 72,798
    Barley 48,212
    Canola 26,945
    All other tame hay and fodder crops 23,183
    Cattle and calves 259,913
    Pigs 37,841
    Chickens 100,000
      Source: Statistics Canada 2006 Census of Agriculture