Saskatchewan's young farmer rate higher than rest of Canada

While fewer Saskatchewan farms are being run by younger people these days, farms in the rest of Canada skew even older, a report says.

According to Demographic Changes in Canadian Agriculture, released on Tuesday, only11.8 per cent of Saskatchewan farms in 2011 were run by people aged 39 years or younger, but it was the highest percentageof sevenregions compared.

The Canadian average was 9.9 per cent.

The proportion ofSaskatchewan farms run by younger peopleis almost twice as big as B.C.'s, according to the report, which is based on census data.

As well, Saskatchewan was one of three provinces (the others being Quebec and Manitoba) where the percentage of farms run by people 55 and over was less than the national average.

Only slightly though Saskatchewan's percentage was54.6 per cent, while Canada's was 55.2 per cent.

In comparison, the 1991 agricultural census showed young farmers ran one in four farms while older farmers ran 37.7 per cent of them.

For those worried about where the next generation of farmers will come from, the report offers scant comfort.

"These ... trends were found in farms of different types and sizes in all provinces," the report written by Martin S. Beaulieu said.

"The trends of fewer operators, fewer young operators and fewer farms showed no signs of reversing."