By Alice McFarlane

More pulses and less canola to be planted in 2024

Mar 13, 2024 | 1:10 PM

Canadian farmers will be planting more pulse crops, oats, and durum according to Statistics Canada’s acreage estimates published on Monday.

Canola

One of the more interesting numbers comes from producers planting intentions for canola this year. Canola acreage is projected to drop by nearly five per cent in Saskatchewan alone to 11.8 million acres.

Farmers in Alberta anticipate seeding 6.2 million acres of canola, down 2.4 per cent. In Manitoba, farmers expect seeded area of canola to rise 2.4 per cent to 3.2 million acres.

Canadian canola area is expected to decrease 3.1 per cent from 2023 to 21.4 million acres in 2024, roughly in line with the five-year average.

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The decline may have been driven by lower prices for canola, in addition to other concerns including soil moisture in Western Canada.

Wheat

At the national level, farmers anticipate planting 27.0 million acres of wheat in 2024, edging up 0.1 per cent from 2023. Spring wheat area is expected to decrease 1.2 per cent to 19.2 million acres, while area seeded to winter wheat is expected to decline 3.6 per cent to 1.5 million acres. Durum wheat area is anticipated to rise 5.1 per cent to 6.3 million acres.

Farmers in Saskatchewan anticipate planting 0.1 per cent more wheat, totalling 14.2 million acres. Spring wheat area is expected to fall 3.1 per cent to 8.9 million acres, while durum wheat area is anticipated to increase 5.3 per cent to 5.2 million acres.

In Alberta, farmers expect total wheat area to grow 2.2 per cent to 8.1 million acres because of greater spring wheat area, while durum wheat area is expected to increase 4.3 per cent to 1.0 million acres.

Manitoba farmers anticipate planting 3.3 million acres of wheat, down 0.6 per cent.

Soybeans

Nationally, farmers anticipate planting 5.6 million acres of soybeans in 2024, down 0.9 per cent from 2023.

Farmers in Ontario, the province that produces the most soybeans, expect to plant 3.0 million acres of soybeans, up 4.3 per cent.

Manitoba producers expect to plant fewer acres of soybeans, falling 7.2 per cent to 1.5 million acres.

In Quebec, soybean seeded area is expected to decrease 3.9 per cent to 962,400 acres.

Barley and oats

Nationwide, barley acreage is expected to fall 2.5 per cent to 7.1 million acres in 2024, possibly because of lower exports and strong competition from other crops.

Barley area is expected to decrease in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba.

Oat area is expected to rise 21.6 per cent to 3.1 million acres, possibly because of low oat stocks resulting from low production in 2023.

Corn for grain

At the national level, farmers expect to plant 3.9 million acres of corn for grain in 2024, up 1.6 per cent from 2023.

In Ontario, where roughly 60 per cent of all corn for grain in Canada is grown, farmers anticipate planting 2.3 million acres, up 0.2 per cent.

Quebec farmers expect to plant more corn for grain, rising 5.4 per cent to 946,500 acres.

For the second year in a row, producers in Manitoba reported an increase in expected area of corn for grain, rising 5.8 per cent in 2024 to 585,800 acres.

Lentil and dry pea

Area seeded to lentils is expected to increase compared with 2023, rising 4.4 per cent to 3.8 million acres in 2024. Farmers in Saskatchewan, where almost 90 per cent of Canada’s lentils are grown, expect seeded area to rise 5.5 per cent to 3.4 million acres, while lentil area in Alberta is expected to decrease 3.7 per cent to 451,000 acres.

Farmers across Canada expect to plant more acres of dry peas in 2024, with area anticipated to rise 2.4 per cent to 3.1 million acres compared with 2023.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @farmnewsNOW