November 7, 2017

 

Strong Canadian wheat yields seen in 2017 due to drought-tolerant varieties  

 

 

Thanks to improved crop genetics, Canadian wheat production in 2017 is in line with the five-year average despite large swaths of the prairie provincess receiving precipitation well below average, the US Department of Agriculture said in its Grain and Feed Update for Canada in October.

 

"Though supported by relatively high sub-soil moisture reserves, strong wheat yields in 2017 are a testament to new crop varieties with improved drought tolerance and water use efficiency", the USDA's Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Report said.

 

Slightly more than half of the major wheat-producing areas of Saskatchewan (Canada's leading wheat-producing province) received between 40-60% of average precipitation between April 1 and July 30, 2017.

 

Wheat yields in the marketing year 2017-2018 are forecast at 3.02 tonnes per hectare, in line with the five-year average.

 

The GAIN report said that "improved genetics have proven to be one of the most successful methods of drought susceptibility adaptation across the prairies".

 

Dry weather conditions and low disease pressure in much of the prairies also resulted in good crop quality, the report added.

 

Corn yields

 

Meanwhile, corn yields are expected to exceed the five-year average at 9.949 tonnes per hectare.

 

Corn imports in MY 2017-2018 are expected to follow the downward trend that has emerged over the past 10 years, as significant improvements in yields and increased growing area have led to increased domestic utilisation of Canadian corn.

 

The report said imports of US corn would be driven by feedlots that are looking to expand their purchase and use of corn for feed rations and substitute out higher-priced barley feed.

 

Corn exports are expected to increase only slightly in MY 20172018 on the back of increased production and ample supplies in the US, which takes nearly half of Canadian corn exports on average.

 

Corn exports were down 13% year-on-year through August 2017, primarily due to a decrease in exports to the US.

 

Canada's other major export markets include Ireland (15% in MY 2016-2017), Spain (13%) and Portugal (12%). —Rick Alberto