Manitoba farmers propelled soybean and corn to new acreage records in Canada, based on Statistics Canada field crop estimates released Tuesday morning.
Canadian growers planted a record 4.6 million acres of soybeans this spring, a gain of 400,000 acres relative to 2012. Soybeans in Manitoba jumped to 1.085 million acres, a gain of 285,000 acres compared to Statistics Canada estimates of 800,000 acres in 2012.
The Stats Can figures are well above industry and provincial estimates for Manitoba. Most observers assumed that Manitoba farmers seeded 900,000 to one million acres of soybeans this year.
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Saskatchewan growers seeded 170,000 acres of beans this spring, compared to an estimated 70,000 in 2012.
Grain corn acres also set a new national record of 3.6 million acres, an increase of 2.9 percent from 2012.
Manitoba growers helped push corn numbers higher by seeding 365,000 acres this spring, up from 300,000 acres last year. The gains in corn may surprise some industry watchers, who thought the slow start to spring would restrict Manitoba acres.
As expected, national canola acres dropped significantly. Growers reported seeding 19.7 million acres, down 8.3 percent from 2012. Manitoba canola acres are estimated at 3.14 million, Saskatchewan at 10.3 million and Alberta at 6.08 million.
The Statistics Canada estimates are based on a survey of about 25,000 farmers, conducted between May 27 and June 10.
