Across Canada, corn acres are expected to rise six percent this year, but little of that growth will likely come from Western Canada.
In an April 21 release, Statistics Canada said grain corn acres would jump 4.1 to 4.6 percent in Quebec and Ontario. StatsCan, based on farmer surveys, said Manitoba acres would be 360,000, up substantially from 225,000 – 250,000 in 2015.
Morgan Cott, Manitoba Corn Growers Association agronomist, isn’t as optimistic. Seeded acres will likely be similar to last year.
“The price is improving a little bit… but it’s not stable enough to (encourage) a jump back into the bigger acres,” Cott said.
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Manitoba hit an all-time high of 380,000 grain corn acres in 2013, thanks to corn prices above $7 per bushel in 2012 and good returns for growers, but acres have dwindled over the last couple years.
Most of the province’s grain corn comes from the eastern side of the province, but farmers in southwestern Manitoba are also apathetic about corn.
“It doesn’t seem like anybody is expanding acres and I don’t hear a lot of new guys… that are going to try it this year,” said Lionel Kaskiw, Manitoba Agriculture crop production adviser in Souris.
The corn story is more positive in southern Alberta, where seeding is poised for growth compared to 2015. Alberta farmers seeded about 40,000 acres of grain corn last year, according to Stats Can.
Seed sales were relatively strong throughout the winter and local demand for corn, from cattle feedlots, is increasing.
“The difference in the Canadian-U.S. dollar has given (corn) an advantage (with)…. livestock feeding operations converting over to corn,” said Lloyd Van Eeden Petersman, of Taber Home and Farm Centre.
Farmers in southern Alberta are investing in grain dryers and other machinery to grow corn, so the long-term prospects are promising, Petersman said.
“Acres continue to climb slowly…. Across the larger area in Alberta grazing acres continue to grow the most. (Producers) are seeing the value in grazing corn as compared to barley grazing.”
