SaskAg Confirms Production Spike

REGINA - Dec 4/04 - SNS -- Specialty crop production levels in Saskatchewan were up sharply over last year and the recent 10-year average according to the final crop report of the 2004 season by Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization.

With the exception of sunflower and chickpeas, specialty crop production in the province was well above average. This year's field pea harvest was estimated to be roughly double the 10-year average at 2.5 million metric tons (MT); while the lentil harvest was 80% above average at an estimated 900,000 MT.

It is important to note that final specialty crop production numbers for Saskatchewan and western Canada will be released by Statistics Canada on December 8. Those numbers are expected to be close to the provincial estimates. but are unlikely to be identical.

Saskatchewan Agriculture reckons this year's canaryseed harvest ended up at 275,000 MT, compared to a recent 10-year average of 163,900 MT. The provincial chickpea crop was pegged at 40,000 MT, well below the previous 10-year average harvest of 114,425 MT in Saskatchewan.

Subscribers can read the full text of the article by Clicking here