That was one big crop produced this year.
Records were set for canola and lentil production and the durum, pea and flax crops were the second largest on record, according to Statistics Canada.
And all those bushels were harvested despite weather problems that almost knocked Manitoba out of the picture.
The canola production figure of 9.66 million tonnes has blown away the Canola Council of Canada’s target of seven million tonnes by 2007. The council said the Canadian industry needed to produce that amount annually to attract new customers that would buy only if the product was there consistently.
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Prairie farmers have shown for two years now they can meet and surpass the seven million tonne challenge, even when the weather is less than perfect.
But production at this level will not be sustainable if canola’s price is such that farmers can’t make money.
Using Saskatchewan Agriculture’s crop planning guide for 2005, total expenses for canola on conventionally seeded stubble were about $170 per acre. The average yield for the province this year was a record 31.5 bushels per acre. But even with that yield you would need an on-farm price of $5.40 per bu. to break even. So at current bids, farmers with less than 31.5 bu. per acre are losing money.
Agriculture Canada has forecasted year-end canola stocks at a burdensome record three million tonnes, based on 11.44 million tonnes of production, carry-in and imports, 4.5 million of exports and 3.94 million of domestic use.
That would mark record domestic use, but is shy of the record for exports set in 2000-01.
In the future, both must increase. The good news is that in a year or two, biodiesel plants in North Dakota and Canada should add another million tonnes or more of demand. But the market needs another million tonnes of demand from somewhere to avoid a continued build up of stocks if nine million tonnes of annual production becomes the norm.
New markets must become the top priority for the industry.
