More Peas and Soybeans, Less Wheat and Canola

OTTAWA - Apr 24/14 - SNS -- Canadian farmers expect to plant less wheat than last year, while planting more field peas and their sixth consecutive record quantity of soybeans.

Farmers may modify their plans prior to planting time, as some reported being undecided about their strategies for 2014. Similar to 2013, many areas of the country are experiencing a longer winter than anticipated. Seeding intentions are based a survey of 11,500 farmers between March 24 and March 31.

Total wheat area could drop 4.8% to 24.8 million acres in 2014. Specifically, seeding intentions for spring wheat show a 5.6% decline from 2013 to 18.0 million acres in 2014, while acreage of durum wheat is expected to decrease 2.6% to 4.8 million acres.

In Saskatchewan, intentions show spring wheat acreage falling to 8.6 million acres in 2014, down 9.2% from 2013. Durum wheat acreage is expected to fall 1.5% to 4.3 million acres. Alberta farmers are forecasting the area for seeding spring wheat to decline 1.4% from 2013 to 6.3 million acres. Durum seeding area is projected to fall 10.8% to 535,000 acres in 2014. Manitoba farmers anticipate seeding 2.8 million acres of spring wheat, down 3.6% from 2013.

Canadian farmers reported that they expect to seed a record soybean area of 5.3 million acres in 2014, up 16.5% from 2013. Producers in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan all plan to seed record levels in 2014. Specifically, Ontario farmers project seeding 300,000 additional acres compared with 2013, while producers in Manitoba intend to seed an additional 250,000 acres.

Canadian farmers indicated that they may seed 19.8 million acres of canola in 2014, down 0.7% from 2013. Saskatchewan, which accounts for 52.0% of the national intended seeding area for canola, anticipates a 1.9% decrease from 2013 to 10.3 million acres. Alberta farmers plan to seed 6.2 million acres of canola, up 1.6% from 2013, while Manitoba looks to seed 3.2 million acres in 2014, the same as in 2013.

At the national level, barley seeded area is expected to decline 10.9% to 6.3 million acres. Canadian farmers also plan to seed 3.2 million acres of oats in 2014, up 0.6% from 2013. Nationally, the corn for grain seeded area is expected to decline 8.7% from 2013 to 3.4 million acres. Ontario farmers expect to seed 2.1 million acres of this total, down 7.0% from 2013. In Quebec, the corn for grain area is expected to decrease 5.9% in 2014 to 958,800 acres.

Canadian farmers indicated that they intend to seed 21.0% more acres of dry field peas in 2014 compared with 2013. Saskatchewan farmers expect to seed 2.7 million acres of dry field peas in 2014, up 19.6% from 2013. Alberta producers also intend to expand their seeded acreage, increasing dry field pea areas by 25.5% to 1.3 million acres.