Canola producers in North Dakota this spring planted the fewest acres the state has seen since 1997.
North Dakota farmers seeded 740,000 acres of canola this year, according to the June 30 U.S. Department of Agriculture seeding survey.
The highest acreage was in 2002, when they seeded 1.3 million acres.
Last year, North Dakota farmers seeded 910,000 acres, based on USDA statistics. They seeded 1.08 million acres in 2007 and 940,000 acres in 2006.
In 1997, 460,000 acres were seeded in the state.
Barry Coleman, executive director of the Northern Canola Growers Association, pointed to several reasons for the drop this spring.
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“A lot of growers were telling us that the price of canola at planting time this year wasn’t as competitive as some other crops. They complained about fertilizer prices as well,” he said. “(And) the seed price increase didn’t come at a very opportune time for growers.”
The price of seed across the state jumped 33 percent this year compared to last, Coleman estimated, going to $40 US per acre from $30.
“What we heard from a lot of seed companies is that to contract their hybrid seed production last year, with the general rise in commodity prices … seed production prices increased quite a bit, so they had to pass that along.”
In comparison, Rob Pettinger, president of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association, said seed prices did not jump as severely on this side of the border. Canadian producers have seen a steady increase in seed price over the last several years.
“It’s not an all of a sudden jump this year. It’s just the fact that paying $6 or $7 a pound for canola seed is a concern,” he said.
Fertilizer was probably a bigger factor for canola growers this spring, especially for producers who bought at peak prices last fall, said Pettinger.
For growers in North Dakota, the higher prices for nitrogen and other fertilizer meant that canola didn’t pencil out well, said Greg Mitchell, who farms near Rock Lake, N.D., 50 kilometres south of Cartwright, Man.
“Let’s compare it to soybeans. You’re going to spend probably $75 an acre more on a canola crop per acre than you do on soybeans,” Mitchell said.
“So right there, you can take $75 less per acre of income on those soybeans and come out as good…. And you didn’t risk as many dollars doing it.”
Wet weather also sent canola acres down.
“You go east of here, 50 to 60 miles and further, and those guys just couldn’t go this spring. You get over by east of Langdon… they didn’t even get half their crop in,” said Mitchell. “That’s going to take a big chunk of acres out right there.”
Despite the challenges of fertilizer costs and wet weather, Mitchell said farmers in his state want to grow canola and he believes acreage will bounce back. He planted 650 acres this spring.
“We’ve got a few more acres than we actually intended. We had more soybeans in the plan, and sunflowers, but later we went to a little more canola.”
Mitchell said canola acreage across North Dakota depends on a simple factor: price.
As of June 30, Archer Daniels Midland’s crushing plant at Velva, N.D., was paying $17.08 per hundredweight for canola delivered in October. If acres are going to rebound next spring, that price has to inch higher.
“If you can keep it above $18 per cwt., you’re going to see acres increase.”
