Farm Debt Outstanding

Detailed information for 2014

The farm debt survey measures the total amount of mortgage and non-mortgage farm debt.

Data release - May 27, 2015

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The farm debt survey measures the total amount of mortgage and non-mortgage farm debt as of December 31 of each year by class of lender.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and other federal and provincial departments use the data to develop, administer and evaluate agricultural policies and programs. Governments, universities and the private sector also use the data for industry performance measurement and market development.

Reference period: December 31

Collection period: During the six-week period prior to release.

Subjects

• Agriculture and food (formerly Agriculture)
• Farm financial statistics

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population is all lending institutions which offer loans to farm operators.

Instrument design

This methodology does not apply.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

Data on farm debt outstanding to chartered banks, federal government agencies and provincial government agencies are obtained by requesting data directly from organizations. A request is sent to the Bank of Canada and federal and provincial agencies in April, requesting information on mortgage and non-mortgage debt to farmers as of the previous December 31 and any revisions to information provided for December 31st of the previous year. In October, a similar request is sent to the same agencies requesting revisions to the December 31 data for the previous two years.

There are several sources of information on debt outstanding for federal government agencies. FCC provides estimates of loans outstanding made under the Farm Credit Corporation Act. Loan information is also provided by the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Information is also gathered from many provincial government agencies. Newfoundland and Labrador Farm Development Loan Board, Prince Edward Island Lending Agency, Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board and New Brunswick Department of Business information is obtained from the administrative data held by these agencies. In Quebec, Farm Credit Act ("Loi du crédit agricole") loan information regarding debt outstanding is mainly obtained from "La Financière agricole du Québec". The rest of the farm credit programs offered by the Quebec government are all of a guarantee nature; the province simply guarantees the borrower an interest rate or the lender against defaults.

Information about the Ontario Tile Drainage Debenture Program is obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The Manitoba Agricultural Credit Corporation and the Agricultural Credit Corporation of Saskatchewan both report loan information directly. Alberta Agriculture Financial Services Corporation and Revenue Services of British Columbia loan information are obtained from the administrative data of these two agencies. Alberta Treasury Branch information is obtained directly from that agency.

Estimates of agriculture debt outstanding to credit unions are based on provincial data supplied by the Industrial Organization and Finance Division (IOFD) of Statistics Canada. IOFD conducts quarterly surveys and publishes this information at the Canada level in Quarterly Financial Statistics for Enterprises (record number 2501).

The category "private individuals and supply companies" includes credit owed to machinery and finance companies, dealers, stores and private individuals. Information regarding this type of credit is based on the Farm Financial Survey (FFS, record number 3450).

Insurance and other unclassified company estimates are based on information from the FFS.

Advance payments estimates are derived from data supplied by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. These payments are a type of loan made to farmers since no transaction occurs at the time of the advance. Prior to 1971 the estimates were included in cash receipts under the category "CWB net cash advances".

Error detection

For chartered banks, federal and provincial agencies and credit unions, data are supplied to us at the provincial level. Data are compared with what was received for previous years from the same organization or agency. If large shifts are observed, the data are confirmed with the respondent and corrections are made if required.

Imputation

This methodology does not apply.

Estimation

Provincial agencies provide data based on a fiscal year ending March 31. For these institutions, the debt outstanding at the fiscal year-end, March 31, is used to represent the debt at December 31 of the previous year.

The Bank of Canada reports both mortgage and non-mortgage farm debt outstanding to chartered banks. Mortgage debt is available at the Canada level only while non-mortgage debt is available at the provincial level. Prior to 1997, provincial estimates were calculated based on the distribution pattern of non-mortgage loans. Starting in 1997, provincial estimates have been calculated based on the distribution pattern of the value of farmland and buildings.

Debt outstanding to private individuals, supply companies, insurance companies and others is estimated by applying the percentage change between successive Farm Financial Surveys.

Quality evaluation

The quality of estimates on farm debt outstanding is evaluated by checking the consistency of these data with other sources or previous occasions. An interpretive analysis is also conducted. Much of the data is already audited by the source organizations. Anomalies are thoroughly investigated prior to release.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Data are published twice each year, at the end of May and at the end of November. In May, preliminary estimates for the previous calendar year are released and data for the year prior is subject to revision. In November, data for the previous two years may be revised. Revisions to the debt series are minor and are primarily due to amended data being received from one or more of the agencies. Historically, at the Canada level, any revision to the total debt outstanding has been less than 1%. To comply with our releasing schedule, there is occasionally need for an organization to provide us with preliminary year-end figures, which are revised in the subsequent releases.

Data accuracy

No direct measures of the margin of error in the estimates can be calculated. The quality of the estimates can be inferred from analysis of revisions and from a subjective assessment of the data sources and methodology used in the preparation of the estimates.

Administrative data are generally compiled for an organization's own needs, and not for statistical purposes, however much of the data are already audited by the source organizations.

Except for the Atlantic provinces and British Columbia, the data on farm debt outstanding provided by credit unions are considered to be of good quality. The Farm Financial Survey, conducted every two years is used to estimate debt outstanding to private individuals and supply companies, and insurance and other companies. Advance payments are considered loans made to farmers since no transaction occurs at the time of the advance. These data are supplied by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and are considered of good quality at both the national and provincial levels.

It is important to note that these data are subject to error. Administrative data may contain non-sampling error such as keying mistakes, while survey data may carry other non-sampling and sampling errors.