General Increase in Canadian Pulses in 2012

VANCOUVER - Nov 19/11 - SNS -- Barring another year of extreme flooding in the spring, land in all crops in Canada will be up sharply over the previous two years as farmers bring land that was unintentionally left fallow back into production.

This could see land in all crops in Canada jump almost 10% to at least 69.5 million acres. Despite the gains, forecast acreage remains below the record 71.12 million acres of field crops planted in 2004. Interestingly, during the past decade, land in crops in Canada exceeded 70 million acres of farmers in Canada have planted over 70 million on five occasions and more than 71 million acres twice.

For 2012, the biggest acreage gains are expected to be cereal grains and oilseeds, with land in those crops expected to increase roughly 4.3 million acres. Land in pulses and other specialty crops is currently expected to jump from 5.64 to 6.56 million acres next year, for a bigger percentage gain, but well below the record 8.56 million acres grown in 2008.

Canola remains the most potent competitor for land use in western Canada on account of a dynamic competition for the crop from both export and domestic crushers. This is especially true of Alberta and Saskatchewan, where most of the expansion in crushing facilities has occurred. Meanwhile, soybeans continue to limit the acreage potential for dry edible beans or other specialty crops in Manitoba.