February 28, 2011

Snows threaten Canada's grain production

As Canada braces for further snow, only exceptionally dry weather can salvage the country from another year of significant losses in spring sowings.

Farmers in western Canada, the country's agricultural heartland, could lose up to five million acres for sowing, an area nearly the size of Israel, unless the region enjoys a "very dry" spring and above-normal temperatures, Bruce Burnett, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) director of weather and market analysis said.

The threat of flooding has been increased by heavy winter snowfalls, promising significant volumes of water during the thaw, onto fields which have already been left sodden by a wet autumn.

"When the snow melts, we will need ideal conditions to be able to plant the whole area," Burnett said.

His comments came as forecasters predicted further snowfall for Canada this week and, in particular, the US.

"Most of the snows are going over the US, bit we will see some of that over our growing areas," Burnett said.

The loss of even five million acres to plantings would be an improvement on last year, when unusually wet conditions meant 10.5 million acres of western Canadian arable land went unseeded, with a further 2.5 million acres abandoned.

Nonetheless, it would represent a large increase on the losses of 500,000 acres in a typical year, out of the total of some 60 million acres, Burnett said.