Principal field crop areas, March 31, 2014
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2014-04-24
Farmers expect to plant less wheat in 2014 than they seeded in 2013, while both soybean and dry field pea areas are forecasted to increase. Soybean areas could reach another record in 2014, which would mark the sixth consecutive year of historic highs.
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.
Wheat
Nationally, according to planting intentions reported by farmers, total wheat area could decrease 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.
Soybeans
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.
Canola
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.
Barley and oats
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.
Corn for grain
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.
Dry field peas
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.
Note to readers
The March Farm Survey, which collects information on crop planting intentions, was conducted between March 24 and March 31, 2014, with about 11,500 farmers. Farmers were asked to report their planting intentions for grain, oilseeds and special crops.
Subsequent surveys during the year will provide estimates of actual seeded acreages. Data on final acreages for 2014 will be released on December 4, 2014, and will be subject to revision for two years.
Farm surveys collect data from Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta during all survey cycles. However, they only collect data twice a year (in the June Farm survey on seeded areas and in the November Farm survey on final crop production) for Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia, which represent between 2% and 4% of national totals. Therefore, Canadian totals for March include carry-over data for these provinces from their preceding November survey, and the same national totals for July and September include carry-over data for these same provinces from their preceding June survey.
Percentage changes are calculated using unrounded data.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@canada.ca).
- Date modified: