A comparison of structural change in Canadian and US grain farming

This paper compares recent changes in the structure of grain farming for Canada and the United States. Grain farming was found to be quire similar for both countries. Major differences focus on the greater degree of specialization of U.S. grain farms, the dominance of the sole proprietorship form of organization in the United States, and the greater dependence of U.S. grain producers on off-farm income sources. The competitive positions of grain farms, as measured by distributions of gross margins, show that the Untied States has both a higher proportion of grain farms with zero or negative gross margins, and a higher proportion of farms with very high gross margins. Canadian grain farms had narrower distributions of gross operating margins averaging 19, while U.S. gross margins averaged 24%. Climatic differences, differing commodity policies, and institutional arrangements in grain marketing and transportation are factors explaining differences in competitiveness.