Nova Scotia farms were in the red last year — again

Nova Scotia’s farming industry hasn’t turned a profit in nearly a decade, and last year lost more than $41 million — a reflection of the economic challenges that are concerning industry leaders in the province.

The numbers aren’t shocking to farmer Amy Hill, whose farm came out of the red in 2024 for the first time in 15 years.

“I’m not making a living wage…. My husband has to work off-farm in order for this to work,” she said.

Hill runs Snowy River Farm, a small operation in Cooks Brook, N.S., with broiler and layer chickens, pigs, a variety of vegetable crops and one beloved cow and its calf.

Hill started the farm with her husband, and for many years they were trying to grow the operation. With every major investment — such as new barns and greenhouses — she said there was always hope it would pay off in the future. But they could never make the numbers work.

She said the difference last year that allowed for a small profit was a decision to scale back. Her husband restarted an off-farm career as a carpenter in 2023. Hill netted $6,000 in 2024.

“It means we grow less for our community, and I’m really disappointed in that,” she said. “But if we wanted the farm to survive itself, then we had to make some changes.”

Farm profits or losses in each province are calculated annually by Statistics Canada. The agency released 2024 figures at the end of May. 

Nova Scotia is not the only province where farms suffered losses last year, but it is the only province where this has been an ongoing problem for so long. Nova Scotia farms, overall, haven’t been profitable since 2016.

Alicia King, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, said there is no clear answer for why Nova Scotia farms have been consistently struggling, while farms in other parts of Canada have not.

“That’s one of the questions that we do have, and that we want to dig into a little bit,” King said.

She said extreme weather and harsh growing seasons in recent years have contributed, although they don’t explain the trend completely.

King said there is some good news. Nova Scotia farms are growing, in some ways.

Statistics Canada figures show farm sales rising over the past five years — a total of 35 per cent from 2020 to 2024. However, that growth has not kept pace with the rising cost of operations.

“We are feeling a pressure, there’s no question about that,” said King.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture hosted a meeting last month with leaders from more than a dozen groups representing different types of farming, and a handful of provincial cabinet ministers.

King said the economic strain on Nova Scotia farmers was one of the main topics. The others were bringing more local food into the province’s new school lunch program and protecting agricultural land, King said.

King said the federation is working on a long-term strategy that she hopes will guide farmers into better finances. She said the strategy should be complete in the next year to 18 months.

In the meantime, she’s encouraging farmers to turn more attention to their bottom lines. 

“We’re business owners and we have to make decisions with that lens all the time,” she said. “And sometimes that’s a little bit more difficult because … there’s a passion to it as well. And sometimes we let our passion override a business decision.”

Greg Morrow, Nova Scotia’s minister of agriculture, declined an interview request. His department sent a statement that acknowledged “some challenging times for farmers.”

The statement said Nova Scotia is working with federal and provincial colleagues and the industry to find solutions. It pointed to a recent top-up of $7 million to a program that helps fruit and vegetable growers buy season-extending equipment — things such as greenhouses, irrigation, lighting and cold storage.

Hill said targeted, temporary-assistance programs can be helpful, but thinks money should go to labour if any level of government subsidizes farming in any way.

Hill has two part-time employees this year, whose wages are partially covered through a federal employment program. If she could hire more people, she said, she could grow more food.

“We need bodies helping with this production,” Hill said. 

The number of farm workers in Nova Scotia has been shrinking, and the federation projects a shortage of 2,600 farm workers by the end of the decade.