Canada. Area under durum wheat increased by more than 130,000 hectares over last year

Canadian farmers have planted more canola and durum wheat, but planted less barley and winter wheat compared to the March plans for the 2024/25 season. The total area planted for Canada's major field crops has slightly decreased from the previous year, according to Statistics Canada. The small size of the upcoming barley crop and limited oat supplies from last year's planting due to drought require above-average yields to meet demand. Lentil planting, on the other hand, has increased from the March plans.

A favorable start to the season and some early spring price incentives led Canadian farmers to plant more canola, a commercial variety of canola, at the expense of wheat than originally planned in March. However, acreage under durum wheat was expanded According to the latest major planted area and production estimates released by Statistics Canada in the last week of June, the total area planted to Canada’s major field crops this season was 31.82 million hectares, down slightly from the 31.9 million hectares planted in 2023/24. The government agency reported canola seeding for the 2024/25 season at 8.91 million hectares, about 2.9% or 250,000 hectares more than the March planting intentions forecast, but slightly lower than the 8.94 million hectares planted in last year’s campaign. However, it is higher than the five-year average of 8.7 million hectares. Statistics Canada’s total wheat area is estimated at 10.78 million hectares, about 1.5% below the March forecast of 10.94 ...