Seeding acres across Canada responded to price signals and market outlook, according to results of the June Statistics Canada principal field crop survey.
Farmers sowed fewer acres in wheat, canola and soybeans, more acres in lentils, peas, barley and oats.
Canola acreage fell 8.5 per cent to 20.9 million acres with Saskatchewan farmers planting 11.6 million acres.
Canola acres in this province fell 6.5 per cent.
Total wheat acreage fell .4 per cent to 24.6 million acres but that doesn't tell the whole story.
Responding to poor anticipated markets, farmers cut durum plantings by almost 21 per cent to 4.9 million acres. Durum acres in Saskatchewan fell 17.8 per cent to 4.1 million.
Spring wheat was substituted by many farmers with acreage up 8.4 per cent to 18.8 million acres.
Saskatchewan farms upped spring wheat by 11 per cent to 8.7 million acres.
Meanwhile, lentils, still facing obstacles in the key Indian market, edged up acres .3 per cent to 3.8 million acres. Indian lentil crops don't look that good, perhaps opening a window for Canada.
Dry peas jumped almost 20 per cent to 4.3 million acres, with most of the increase in this province.
Barley acres increased 14 per cent to 7.4 million, with oats registering an 18 per cent increase to 3.6 million acres
Nationally, soybean acres dropped 9.6 per cent.
