Chinese restrictions on canola imports have shifted plans for canola acres this year, according to the annual Statistics Canada spring survey of estimated crop planting intentions.
Canola plantings, fourth lowest in five years, will be reduced by 6.6 per cent to 21.3 million acres. In Saskatchewan, farmers cut canola by 700,000 acres.
The 1.5 million acre cut in Canadian canola will be made up by a shift to wheat where the 25.67 million acres increases by 3.8 per cent – the largest since 2015.
Not all wheat categories have increased. Durum acreage drops by 18.8 per cent. Winter wheat plantings last fall were down 2.8 per cent to 1.3 million acres.
Spring wheat acres increased 12 per cent — 2.1 million acres.
Saskatchewan farms will seed 13.3 million acres in wheat with a four million acre gain in spring wheat offset by durum reductions.
Among cereal crops, barley acres are up 10.2 per cent with the largest acres in five years at 7.15 million.
Oats increases 7.9 per cent to 3.29 million acres, led by 12.4 per cent increase in this province.
Fall rye is up 71 per cent to 345,000 acres.
In pulses, lentil acres fall 9.6 per cent to 3.4 million acres, the lowest in five years as the trade dispute with India drags on. Saskatchewan cut acreage by 250,000.
Field pea acreage increases 11.6 per cent to 4.04 million while chickpea acres drop 24.5 per cent to 177,000.
Dry beans fall 8.1 per cent to 325,000 acres.
Soybean acreage drops 10.7 per cent to 5.64 million acres while flaxseed increases 16.7 per cent to one million acres.
Mustard seed is reduced by 17.4 per cent to 416,000 acres with canary seed up 7.8 per cent to 229,000 acres. Sunflower acreages is static at 71,000
Summerfallow, continuing a multi-year decline, drops .6 per cent to 1.79 million acres.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
