WINNIPEG — Canadian farmers might be set to seed record large canola acres in 2017, while wheat area is generally expected to be down when Statistics Canada releases its first survey-based acreage estimates of the year April 21.
From an economic standpoint, “canola is historically the commodity that pays the bills,” said Mike Jubinville of ProFarmer Canada.
With disease issues for cereal crops and uncertain demand prospects for pulses, “canola still stands as one of those lone beacons: a commodity that as long as it yields good will probably yield a profit,” he said.
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Added Jerry Klassen, manager of Canadian operations with Swiss-based GAP SA Grains and Produits in Winnipeg: “Farmers are really going into canola and focusing on returns-per-acre this year.”
Average trade guesses on canola plantings range from 20.3 to 22.5 million acres, which would compare with the 20.4 million acres seeded in 2016. The previous canola acreage record, of 22 million acres, was set in 2012.
“It’s no surprise we’ll see higher canola (acres), but there’s some debate over how much,” said Jon Driedger of FarmLink Marketing.
He said the canola increases won’t be across the board with Manitoba farmers likely planting more soybeans at the expense of canola.
Most industry participants expect that total Canadian wheat area (spring, winter, and durum) will be down by at least a million acres from the 23.2 million seeded in 2016 with the largest reduction in durum. After seeding 6.2 million acres of durum in 2016, trade estimates for 2017 range from 4.8 to 5.8 million.
Farmers were discouraged with vomitoxin issues last year, and there is a high risk again because of moisture issues, said Klassen. Durum acres should be down sharply in the peripheral durum growing regions, he added, but may hold steady in the prime areas.
As for pulse crops, opinions are more divided. A record 5.9 million acres of lentils were seeded in 2016, and early estimates for 2017 range from 3.9 to 6.1 million acres. Pea acreage estimates also vary widely from 3.6 to 4.8 million acres. That compares with the 4.2 million seeded in 2016.
“There is some uncertainty in the pulses with the whole India situation,” said Klassen, pointing to the unresolved issue over India’s fumigation requirements.
However, he said farmers are still happy with the returns per acre, low inputs and rotational benefits of incorporating more pulses in their rotations.
Weather issues may lead to some acreage adjustments over the next six to eight weeks, especially because many fields in Western Canada still have unharvested crops left over from last year.
“At the end of the day, weather matters the most,” said Driedger, noting that any adjustments in planted area will be overwhelmed by a tweak in yields over the course of the growing season.
