Stocks of principal field crops, December 31, 2016
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Released: 2017-02-03
25.0 million tonnes
December 2016
16.8% 
(year-over-year change)
12.2 million tonnes
December 2016
-9.6% 
(year-over-year change)
6.4 million tonnes
December 2016
11.7%
(year-over-year change)
11.6 million tonnes
December 2016
3.0%
(year-over-year change)
As of December 31, 2016, total stocks of wheat, corn for grain and barley were up compared with the same date a year earlier. However, total stocks of canola, soybean and oats were down in 2016.
Total stocks of wheat rose 16.8% from December 31, 2015, to 25.0 million tonnes. The gain in stocks reflected a 15.0% increase in wheat production in 2016. Stocks held on farm totalled 21.3 million tonnes, up 21.2% from December 31, 2015. Commercial stocks were 3.5% lower at 3.7 million tonnes.
Canola stocks were down 9.6% from December 31, 2015, to 12.2 million tonnes on December 31, 2016. On-farm stock levels fell 12.3% to 10.3 million tonnes. Meanwhile, commercial stock levels rose 9.5% over the same period to a record high 1.8 million tonnes. Canola production was virtually unchanged from 2015 to 2016 at 18.4 million tonnes.
Total stocks of corn for grain totalled 11.7 million tonnes on December 31, 2016, up 3.0% from the same date a year earlier. Both on-farm stocks (+2.2% to 8.8 million tonnes) and commercial stocks (+5.4% to a record high 2.9 million tonnes) contributed to this increase.
Total stocks of soybeans decreased 4.3% from December 31, 2015, to 3.4 million tonnes in 2016 as result of a 17.1% decline in on-farm stocks. Meanwhile, commercial stock levels rose 16.4% over the same period to a record high 1.6 million tonnes. This overall decline was attributable to a drop in on-farm stocks from 2.2 million tonnes in 2015 to 1.8 million tonnes in 2016.
Barley stocks rose 11.7% from December 31, 2015, to 6.4 million tonnes at the end of 2016. The gain was attributable to a 12.6% increase in on-farm stocks to 6.1 million tonnes. Commercial stocks fell 9.1% to 211 000 tonnes.
Total stocks of oats decreased 5.3% to 2.4 million tonnes as of December 31, 2016. On-farm stocks were down 5.4% from the same date in 2015 to 2.2 million tonnes. Commercial stock levels declined 4.1% to 211 000 tonnes.
Note to readers
The December Farm Survey of stocks of principal field crops covered 8,559 Canadian farms and was conducted from January 3 to 15, 2017. Farmers were asked to report the amounts of grain, oilseeds and special crops in on-farm storage. The December Farm Survey also has two questions pertaining to permanent on-farm storage capacity and the percentage of grain stored on farm using temporary storage methods.
Data on commercial stocks of western major crops originate from the Canadian Grain Commission. Data on commercial stocks of special crops originate from a survey of handlers and agents of special crops. Data on commercial stocks of corn and soybeans are based on data from Statistics Canada's survey of grain elevators in Eastern Canada.
National supply-disposition data for the major grains and special crops are published jointly with the current release on stock levels and are available in CANSIM tables 001-0041 to 001-0043.
Stocks data are subject to revisions during the two years following their initial publication.
Release calendar: The dates for upcoming releases from the Field Crop Reporting Series are available online.
Contact information
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