February 7, 2011

Canada's wheat acreage to rise after 2010 downpour

Canadian wheat growers are hoping that a forecast of 9% increase in their harvest area materialises in 2011 after last year's downpour.

Most of the country's wheat is spring sown and there is another five months to go until all is safely in. Last year, heavy rains for most of June resulted in the loss of millions of acres.

The forecast rise would put the Canadian wheat area at 9.29 million ha (23 million acres) which is still 780,000 ha (1.92 million acres) lower than in 2009. Canada's barley and rapeseed crops are set to rise by 7% and 10% respectively, while oats will be up 21%.

"While there is still a considerable amount of time to go until planting, some fields were water logged before the start of the winter and there is currently a large depth of snow cover across the main growing regions. The Canadian Wheat Board has reported that the snowmelt conditions will be important with warm, dry weather needed throughout March/April to avoid planting disruptions," reports HGCA.