Bigger Pulse Harvest Than Feared?

VANCOUVER - Nov 7/10 - SNS -- Specialty crop production levels in western Canada could be reduced in the final crop report for the year, judging from regional yield estimates from Saskatchewan Agriculture. However, the changes may not be as large as initially suggested by crop reporters across the province.

Ongoing reports from the provincial agriculture departments can give a good indication of yields trends during harvest, but they are not as thorough as the Statistics Canada surveys, which are based on direct contact with a large percentage of farmers across the country.

If the numbers are correct and if farmers abandoned as many acres as they intended, there could be significant downward revisions in the final production estimates for canaryseed and chickpeas; a modest decline in peas; moderate decrease in the lentil output numbers; and a potential increase in the size of the mustard seed crop.

A key unknown is whether the dramatic improvement in weather conditions in October led to farmers harvested more of their crops than they believed would be the case when Statistics Canada conducted its production survey at the end of August and beginning of September.