Canada Farmers Plant More Wheat, Canola and Soybeans for 2023

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canadian farmers planted more wheat, canola and soybeans this year, according to the latest field crop survey.

Nationally, farmers reported planting 26.9 million acres of wheat in 2023, up 6.7% from the year before thanks to favorable prices and strong global demand, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

The increase in the overall wheat area was led by spring wheat, which rose 8% to 19.5 million acres, as well as a 0.5% rise in durum wheat to 6 million acres, the data agency said.

Winter wheat, grown predominantly in eastern Canada, increased 20% to 1.4 million acres.

Across Canada's prairie provinces, farmers in Saskatchewan reported planting 6.9% more wheat, while in Alberta farmers reported a 4.4% increase in acres of wheat and in Manitoba farmers the wheat-seeded area rose 7.2%.

The area planted for canola was 3.2% higher this year at 22.1 million acres, which the agency said may be the result of relatively favorable prices.

Canadian farmers reported planting 5.6 million acres of soybeans, up 6.8% from 2022, while nationally farmers reported seeding more corn for grain in 2023, rising 5.5% to 3.8 million acres.

Statistics Canada said favorable conditions across western Canada allowed producers to complete seeding in a timely manner, with Alberta seeding nearly completed by the end of May while planting in Saskatchewan and Manitoba was slightly behind the five- and 10-year averages due to excess moisture in some areas. In eastern Canada, seeding progressed well thanks to favorable field conditions, with most producers in Ontario and Quebec having completed most seeding by mid-May due to near-normal temperatures and dry conditions, the agency said.

The June survey collected information field crop seeded areas in Canada from about 25,000 farmers. Data on final acreages for 2023 are scheduled to be released Dec. 4.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-28-23 0902ET