Record high grain prices have failed to coax Canadian farmers into planting more acres of some major grains.
A $26 a bushel price for canola still saw planting intentions fall by seven per cent to 20.9 million acres, according to the March Statistics Canada planting intentions survey.
In Saskatchewan farmers will plant eight per cent less of the yellow flowered oilseed for 11.1 million acres.
Wheat intentions perhaps reflect the record $14.36 a bushel price for spring wheat.
National wheat acres increase 17.6 per cent to 25.1 million, overtaking canola for the first time in years.
Spring wheat acres rise to 17.6 million or seven per cent with Saskatchewan farmers planting 13.3 million acres for a 10.6 per cent increase.
Durum acreage expands by 12.5 per cent to 6.2 million, a possible reflection of the $15 a bushel price. Acreage in this province increases 15.4 per cent to 5.2 million acres.
Winter wheat acres decline by 216,000 (13 per cent) to 1.2 million.
Unresponsive to near record $7.89 bushel prices, barley acres decline 9.7 per cent to 7.5 million. In Saskatchewan barley drops 17.6 per cent to 3.1 million acres.
Dry pea acres drop almost 500,000 acres to 3.55 million. Lentil acres gain 185,000 acres to 4.5 million. Chickpea acres drop 5,000 to 175.000.
Flax acreage declines 15.6 per cent to 867,000 despite a $29 a bushel price.
Oats acres increase 16.6 per cent to just under four million acres.
A 48 per cent acre gain to 457,000 acres for mustard reflects good growing in dry conditions.
Canary seed acres fall almost 15 per cent to 268,000.
Dry bean acres decline by almost one-quarter to 337,000 while fall rye at 433,000 acres gains 3,000.
Soybeans gain 27,000 acres to 5.35 million.
High prices see a 10 per cent increase in sunflowers to 112,000 acres.
Summerfallow trends continue with a 22 per cent drop to 1.34 million acres.
The survey included 11,500 responding farms.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
