The president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) was moaning last month about the increased expenses for Saskatchewan farmers.
Using Statistics Canada data Ian Boxall noted farm expenses were up 11 per cent. He worries that farmers will be in a financial predicament if commodity prices fall from current levels.
Diesel fuel prices moved from 97 cents a litre to $1.35 over the last five years.
Most commodity prices have fallen from early Ukraine war levels but remain pretty healthy.
What Boxall forgot - or omitted- was the increase in farm cash receipts last year. Those receipts increased 18.2 per cent in Saskatchewan, via Statistics Canada.
The 34,120 farms in Saskatchewan took in an average of $438,900 income with expenses of $336,750 for an average net income of $102,000 after paying family wages. Family wages declined one per cent to average $9,300 or less than minimum wage.
Whether that amounted to an average three per cent return on farm assets is unlikely.
Another piece of information Boxall omitted or forgot was the $2.2 billion in direct payments from government safety net programs that farmers in Saskatchewan received in 2021. That amounts to an average near $6,500 per farmer - or one in every $15 net income.
The big issue on Boxall's platter is the price of commodities in future years.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the disruptions caused to commodity supply and prices in grains, oil and metals is severe, pushing prices up to levels never before seen. Rumours keep those prices volatile.
When and if this conflict is resolved, those commodity prices will reflect more supply and will fall. But the ensuing price increases in some major farm expenses should also decline.
Nitrogen and urea fertilizer, the most used in Saskatchewan, are made from natural gas and produced by using natural gas. Natural gas prices have skyrocketed with exports in liquid form to Europe.
Gasoline and diesel prices will respond in a similar manner, although some of the diesel shortages arise from refinery issues.
The APAS president's cries about expenses sound a bit like the Chicken Little cries from the classic children's fairy tale.
This sort of misleading information, by intent or by accident, won't help APAS gain the ear of government and sympathy from that source.
And once exposed this unbalanced data won't assist in building credibility for APAS. Perhaps the APAS team and researchers are getting too political and wild with facts like many politicians practise.
The above data - farm family wages, return on assets - could make a strong case for farmers living near poverty without omitting salient facts.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
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