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Latest Stats Can numbers show increases in spring wheat and soybeans
NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Latest Stats Can numbers show increases
in spring wheat and soybeans
Statistics Canada has released the latest figures on acreage for field crops across Canada, with spring wheat acres reporting a 7.3 percent increase from 2008 and a new high for soybean acres in Ontario and Quebec.
June 23, 2009 By Statistics Canada
June 23, 2009
– Prairie farmers increased acreage planted in spring wheat this year, while the acreage for most feed grains declined. Ontario and Quebec farmers reported that the area planted to soybeans reached a new high.
The June Farm Survey, Statistics Canada's largest area survey, was conducted between May 25 and June 3, covering 25,000 Canadian farmers.
As of June 3, Prairie farmers reported that planting was virtually complete, with unseeded pockets remaining in mainly northern areas and in the Red River Valley regions of Manitoba affected by the spring floods.
Seeding conditions were variable across the Canadian Prairies, ranging from cool and dry in western areas to cool and excessively wet in eastern regions.
In Ontario and Quebec, planting was mostly complete, although cool, damp weather hampered progress.
Area for spring wheat up
Prairie farmers reported planting 17.1 million acres of spring wheat, up 7.3 percent or 1.2 million acres from 2008.
Wheat area increased in all three Prairie provinces. In Manitoba, farmers planted 13.8 percent more spring wheat, followed by Saskatchewan at 7.1 percent and Alberta at 4.6 percent.
Mixed results for oilseeds:
Slight decline for canola as flaxseed area rises
Prairie farmers reported that the area seeded to canola amounted to 15.7 million acres, down 2.0 percent or 325,000 acres from the record set in 2008.
Farmers in all three Prairie provinces planted less canola, with the largest decline in Alberta (down 250,000 acres). The area seeded to canola had grown steadily from 2006 to 2008.
Flaxseed area on the Prairies increased 10.3 percent to 1.7 million acres. This was the second consecutive annual increase.
Farmers in all three Prairie provinces reported an increase in the area seeded to flaxseed.
Barley area falls
Total barley area on the Prairies fell 545,000 acres from 2008 to 8.2 million acres. This was the smallest area seeded to barley since 1967.
Barley acreage fell in all three Prairie provinces, with the largest decline of 250,000 acres reported in Saskatchewan.
New high for soybean area
Soybean seeded area rose to a new high in both Ontario and Quebec. The acreage in Ontario rose 14.3 percent or 300,000 acres to 2.4 million acres, while in Quebec, farmers reported a 4.3 percent increase to 598,000 acres.
Seeding of pinciple field crops: Canada
