In 2017, Manitoba farmers seeded 2.3 million acres of soybeans, which was about 25 percent of all acres seeded in the province.
Since that time, soybean acres have slid downward. Drought, dry conditions at seeding and lack of timely rains in August, cut into yields and dampened farmer enthusiasm for the legume.
Seeded acreage last year sank to 900,000, the lowest level since 2012.
However, with record yields last fall, soybeans are poised for a bounce back in 2023.
“We’re going to see a rebound in soybean acres; I’ll say 1.3 (million),” said Dennis Lange, the soybean and pulse crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. “That’s my gut feeling.”
Lange, who spoke about soybeans at Ag Days, a trade show held in Brandon in January, is known for his accurate predictions about soybeans in Manitoba.
He’s also known for wearing Hawaiian shirts to farm meetings and reportedly owns more than 120 of the eye-catching items.
Lange is feeling optimistic about beans, mostly because Manitoba farmers set a yield record of 45 bushels per acre in 2022. That’s a huge improvement from recent years, like 2019 and 2021, when average yields were around 28 bu. per acre.
“Soybeans in the east (eastern half of Manitoba), I’ve seen some of the (yield) numbers were in the 50s,” Lange said. “I’ve heard (of) individual fields doing 60.”
Such yields are more typical in Iowa and southern Minnesota, not in the northern fringe of North America’s soybean growing region.
Parts of eastern Manitoba set rainfall records in 2022 and soybeans thrived in the moist conditions.
Soybeans are more established in the Red River Valley and the eastern parts of Manitoba, but the crop also has a firm foothold in western Manitoba.
Growers in southwestern Manitoba reported soybean yields in the 40s last year and those farmers will likely plant more soybeans this spring, said Lionel Kaskiw, a farm production extension specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.
“We could see some acres maybe coming out of oats. We had an increase in oat acres the last few years and I think guys are looking for something a little bit different.”
Still, a boom in soybean acres is unlikely because canola prices are still strong. It’s hard to compete with canola right now, Kaskiw said.
“With the price… canola is going to be your king. Especially in southwestern Manitoba.”
