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By Alice McFarlane

Seeded acreage Report

More wheat to be planted this growing season

Apr 27, 2023 | 11:27 AM

Canadian farmers intend to plant the most wheat in 22 years.

The Statistics Canada Principal Field Crop Area report said the war in Ukraine and drought in the United States tighten global supplies.

Canadian farmers expect to plant more wheat, canola, corn for grain, barley and soybeans in 2023, while area seeded to oats, lentils and dry peas is anticipated to decrease compared with the previous year.

Wheat

At the national level, farmers anticipate planting 27.0 million acres of wheat in 2023, up 6.2 per cent from the previous year. Spring wheat area is projected to increase 7.5 per cent to 19.4 million acres with durum wheat area up slightly to 0.9 per cent to 6.1 million acres. Winter wheat area is expected to increase 12.7 per cent to 1.5 million acres.

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If this happens national wheat area would be the highest it has been in more than two decades.

Farmers in Saskatchewan expect to plant 7.3 per cent more wheat this year, totalling 14.2 million acres. Spring wheat area is expected to expand 10.2 per cent to 9.2 million acres, while durum wheat area is anticipated to increase 2.9 per cent to 5.0 million acres.

In Alberta, farmers expect total wheat area to increase 4.2 per cent to 8.0 million acres because of higher spring wheat area, while durum wheat area is expected to decrease 5.4 per cent.

Manitoba farmers anticipate planting 3.2 million acres of wheat, up 3.3 per cent from one year earlier.

Canola

Canola area is expected to edge up 0.9 per cent to 21.6 million acres in 2023, roughly in line with the five-year average.

In Saskatchewan, the province that produces the most canola, farmers anticipate seeded area of canola to increase 3.7 per cent to 11.8 million acres.

In Alberta, farmers expect seeded area of canola to decrease 2.6 per cent to 6.4 million acres.

Farmers in Manitoba anticipate seeding 3.3 million acres of canola, down 0.9 per cent from the previous year.

Soybeans

Nationally, farmers anticipate planting 5.5 million acres of soybeans, up 4.5 per cent from 2022.

Farmers in Ontario, the province that produces the most soybeans, expect to plant 2.9 million acres of soybeans, down 5.4 per cent from 2022.

Manitoba is expected to lead the national increase in soybean acreage. Soybean area in the province is expected to rise 37.3 per cent to 1.6 million acres, the highest area in the province since 2018.

In Quebec, soybean seeded area is expected to decrease 4.8 per cent to 910,400 acres.

Barley and oats

Nationwide, barley acreage is expected to edge up 0.6 per cent to 7.1 million acres in 2023.

Barley area is expected to decrease in Saskatchewan by 4.7 per cent to 2.6 million acres while in Manitoba a drop of 14.4 per cent to 362,700 acres is anticipated. The biggest increase is expected in Alberta at 7.3 per cent.

Oat area is expected to fall 22.4 per cent to 3.1 million acres compared with one year earlier, possibly because of high oat stocks resulting from high production in 2022.

As for corn for grain at the national level, farmers expect to plant 3.7 million acres of corn for grain, up 2.8 per cent from one year earlier.

In Ontario, where over 60 per cent all corn for grain in Canada is grown, farmers anticipate planting 2.3 million acres, up 0.2 per cent from 2022. If this occurs, it would be a record area for the province, surpassing the previous record set in 2022.

Quebec farmers expect to plant more corn for grain, rising 3.1 per cent to 920,200 acres in 2023.

Lentil and dry pea

Area seeded to lentils is expected to decrease compared with one year earlier, falling 8.0 per cent to 4.0 million acres. Farmers in Saskatchewan, where almost 90 per cent of Canada’s lentils are grown, anticipate seeded area to fall 7.7 per cent to 3.5 million acres, while lentil area in Alberta is expected to decrease 10.5 per cent to 492,600 acres.

Farmers across Canada expect to plant fewer acres of dry peas in 2023, with area anticipated to fall 4.6 per cent to 3.2 million acres compared with 2022.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW