The Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) warns that not only half of the producers are being hit in the throat by inflation, more than 30 percent of them are currently unable to even generate income that breaks even.
“It’s definitely going to hurt. There are farms that are going to close. We could lose producers due to the lack of new labor, labor and inflation,” fears Vincent Anger-Deslauriers, co-owner of Ferme Régrain in Beloeil, in the La Vallée-du-Countain. Richelieu.
“We can’t come anymore. Our earnings are up about 8%, while inputs are up 20%,” adds the fourth-generation Montérégie dairy farmer.
The UPA estimates that one in ten farms could be off the map within a year if the perfect inflationary storm continues.
negative balance
According to a recent Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) survey, conducted among 3,675 members, we learn that two in ten farms say they are in “bad” or “very bad” financial health, and almost half do a deterioration feared the year.
“We are followed by a management group to keep the boat afloat. We get there, but we go year after year, month after month. We no longer have the right to madness, ”shares Vincent Anger-Deslauriers, young producer of 30 years, in the journal.
In Quebec as a whole, almost 30% of producers expect a negative balance due to rate hikes, and 40% even go so far as to fear defaults.
clouds on the horizon
In a press release on Wednesday morning, UPA President Martin Caron recalled that the explosion in input costs (+27.9%) between January 2020 was almost three times higher than inflation (+11.8%). and September 2022.
“For more and more farms, especially start-ups, the horizon is darkening. It’s not too late, but there is an urgent need for action,” he said.
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highlights
More than 60% of farmers plan to “reduce or defer their investments,” which could have a serious impact on Quebec’s food sector.