Top Crop Manager

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Stocks of principal field crops

As of March 31, 2018, total stocks of wheat and barley were lower compared with the same date in 2017. Meanwhile, total stocks of canola, corn, soybeans, oats, dry peas and lentils were up. Many of the increases were a result of increased on-farm stocks.

Wheat
Total wheat stocks were at 16.4 million tonnes as of March 31, 2018, down 3.9 per cent from the same day a year earlier. This decrease was the result of lower stock levels being held on farms, down 1.3 per cent to 12.5 million tonnes, as well as an 11.3 per cent decrease in commercial stocks to 3.9 million tonnes. Farm stock levels in Saskatchewan decreased by 5.6 per cent to 5.7 million tonnes, while farm stocks in Alberta increased 4.9 per cent to 4.4 million tonnes.

Canola
As of March 31, total canola stocks were up 14.4 per cent from the same day a year earlier to 9.1 million tonnes. This increase resulted from a 18.2 per cent rise in on-farm stocks to 7.5 million tonnes. On-farm stocks in Saskatchewan were up 15.3 per cent to 3.8 million tonnes, while they increased 22.7 per cent in Alberta to 2.7 million tonnes. Commercial stocks, however, edged down 0.8 per cent to 1.6 million tonnes.

Corn for grain
Corn for grain stocks were up 4.3 per cent from the same date a year earlier to 8.7 million tonnes. Commercial stocks were down 25.5 per cent to 2.1 million tonnes, while farm stocks were up 19.1 per cent to 6.7 million tonnes. Farm stocks in Ontario increased 34.1 per cent to 3.7 million tonnes.

Soybeans
Soybean stocks increased 38.7 per cent to 2.6 million tonnes as of March 31, likely the result of record production of 7.7 million tonnes in 2017. On-farm stocks were up 58.1 per cent to 1.5 million tonnes. Manitoba was the main driver, as on-farm stocks in the province increased by 150 per cent to 700,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, commercial stocks increased by 18.3 per cent to 1.1 million tonnes.

Barley and oats
Total barley stocks decreased 25.5 per cent to 3.4 million tonnes as of March 31, after a 10.7 per cent production decline in 2017. Farm stocks decreased 28.3 per cent compared with the same day a year earlier to three million tonnes. However, commercial stock levels increased 12 per cent to 355,000 tonnes.

Total oat stocks increased 19.8 per cent to 2.1 million tonnes compared with March 31, 2017. Both on-farm stocks (+21.8 per cent) and commercial stocks (+4.9 per cent) contributed to the overall increase. These stock levels follow a 15.3 per cent rise in oat production in 2017 over 2016.

Dry peas and lentils
Total stocks for lentils increased 34.8 per cent from March 31, 2017, to 1.5 million tonnes, mainly driven by on-farm stock levels that rose 41.1 per cent to 1.4 million tonnes. Meanwhile, stocks of dry peas rose 12.7 per cent to 1.9 million tonnes. These increases continue a pattern seen for the commodities in the last stock report taken on December 31, 2017. The current stock increases as of March 31, 2018, could be attributable to a rise in import tariffs introduced by India. Exports of both dry peas and lentils on March 31, 2018, are down substantially from the same date last year, with dry pea exports declining 40.7 per cent to 1.8 million tonnes, and lentil exports down 49.6 per cent to one million tonnes.

May 14, 2018  By Top Crop Manager


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