The president of the Manitoba Corn Producers Association says farmers would more than double the number of acres they plant to corn if prices rose to profitable levels.
Michael Coates testified at a Feb. 5 hearing of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal that he foresees a dramatic increase in corn acres if Manitoba prices rise to $4 per bushel.
Prices are now $3.35 per bu., he said.
Coates made his comments in response to concerns expressed at the hearings about Manitoba’s ability to supply western Canadian livestock producers with corn.
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The tribunal held hearings to gather evidence on whether American corn imports hurt Manitoba corn producers.
If the three-member panel concludes corn producers have been injured, Canada Customs will continue to assess a duty on imports at the border.
The duty will create a floor price for imports of $3.09 (US) per bu.
The tribunal is expected to announce its decision March 7.
Coates said Manitoba farmers grew 225,000 acres of beans last summer, a crop that requires similar equipment, management and climate as grain corn.
He testified 150,000 acres could move from beans into corn.
Leonard Buhler, who farms near Winkler, agreed farmers could produce 30 million bu. of corn, up from 10 million bu. now grown.
“We have stepped up to the plate,” said Buhler, describing expansion in crops like beans and potatoes.
“We want to grow our own grain and feed it in our own province. The only thing stopping us from expanding … is we’re getting clobbered by the U.S. subsidies.”
Randall Hofley, lawyer for Maple Leaf Foods, told the panel it would be unusual for prices to rise above $4 per bu.
Prices have only been higher than that once in the past 15 years — in 1995-96, Hofley said. That was when markets were hit with the “triple whammy” of Chinese import demand, American production problems, and a setaside program that pulled 10 percent of acres out of production.
Lance Mistelbacher, director of risk management for Maple Leaf, told the panel corn is a risky crop that takes special equipment and knowledge to grow.
Sharp acreage changes are less likely these days because farmers are more diversified, he said.
Manitoba farmers are unlikely to be able to meet the demand if high duties continue to keep American imports out of Western Canada, he added. Supplies will be particularly tight during the last quarter of the crop year, when farmers clear bins to make room for new crop, he said.
Broker Jan Leishman of Perdue Shafer Inc. also testified that local corn supplies dwindle during the spring and summer.
“But that doesn’t mean that my customer doesn’t need that production throughout that time period.”
The corn growers testified that they sell their grain year round.
Peter Clark, a lawyer for the farmers, said Canadian trade law doesn’t require producers to be able to supply the entire market before they are eligible for protection from dumped and subsidized imports.
