OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA – Canada’s forecast wheat production for 2018-19 has been revised higher on greater area planted, according to an Aug. 7 Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The report said wheat planted area in Canada is projected to grow for the first time in five years, increasing by 940,000 hectares to 10 million hectares, up 9% from 2017-18.
Conversely, canola and soybean planted area are projected to decline for the first time in several years at -1% and -15%, respectively.
“Unlike in the United States or eastern Canada, prairie farmers have not reached an agronomic equilibrium with consistently predictable yields,” USDA said. “While industry investment into creating soybean varieties for the prairie region of Canada is strong, farmers are still in the process of calibrating which varieties under which conditions will provide consistently high yields.”
The USDA’s most recent forecast pegs wheat production at 32.15 million tonnes, up from 29.98 million tonnes in 2017-18.
Exports in 2018-19 are also forecast slightly higher at 23.3 million tonnes as compared to 22 million tonnes a year ago.
