Stocks of principal field crops, March 31, 2017
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2017-05-05
16.6 million tonnes
March 2017
15.5% 
(year-over-year change)
6.6 million tonnes
March 2017
-23.3% 
(year-over-year change)
8.4 million tonnes
March 2017
7.7%
(year-over-year change)
1.9 million tonnes
March 2017
-4.2%
(year-over-year change)
As of March 31, 2017, total stocks of canola, soybeans and oats were lower compared with the same date in 2016. Meanwhile, total stocks of wheat, corn for grain and barley were up.
Wheat
Total wheat stocks were at 16.6 million metric tonnes as of March 31, 2017, up 15.5% from the same day a year earlier. This increase resulted from higher stock levels being held on farms, up 17.5% to 12.2 million tonnes, and a 10.2% rise in commercial stocks to 4.4 million tonnes. Farm stock levels in Saskatchewan increased by 11.1% to 5.9 million tonnes, while farm stocks in Alberta increased 26.9% to 4.2 million tonnes.
Canola
As of March 31, total canola stocks were down 23.3% from the same day a year earlier to 6.6 million tonnes. This decrease resulted from a 28.0% decline in on-farm stocks to 5.0 million tonnes. On-farm stocks in Saskatchewan were down 32.1% to 2.3 million tonnes, while farm stocks in Alberta fell 24.5% to 1.8 million tonnes. Commercial stocks also contributed to the overall decrease as they were down 3.4% to 1.6 million tonnes.
Corn for grain
Corn for grain stocks were up 7.7% from the same reference date a year earlier, to a record high 8.4 million tonnes. Commercial stocks were up 40.6% to 2.8 million tonnes while farm stocks were down 3.6% to 5.6 million tonnes. Farm stocks in Quebec increased 6.2%, to a record high 2.1 million tonnes for a March 31 stock levels reading.
Soybeans
Soybean stocks decreased 4.2% to 1.9 million tonnes as of March 31, despite a 1.4% increase in production in 2016. On-farm stocks were down 19.6% to 930 000 tonnes, mainly driven by Ontario, where they fell 33.8% to 460 000 tonnes. Commercial stocks increased 18.6% to 925 000 tonnes.
Barley and oats
Total barley stocks increased 22.6% to 4.6 million tonnes as of March 31, following a 6.8% gain in production in 2016. Farm stocks grew 24.2% compared with the same day a year earlier, to 4.3 million tonnes. The commercial stock levels increased 4.6% to 317 100 tonnes.
After an 8.2% year-over-year decline in oat production in 2016, total oat stocks decreased 8.5% to 1.7 million tonnes compared with March 31, 2016. Both farm stocks (-6.8%) and commercial stocks (-19.1%) contributed to the overall decrease.
Note to readers
The March Farm Survey of 11,600 Canadian farms is a survey of stocks of principal field crops conducted from March 16 to 31, 2017. Farmers were asked to report the amounts of grain, oilseeds and special crops in on-farm storage. The March, July and December Farm Surveys also have two questions pertaining to permanent on-farm storage capacity and the percentage of grain stored on farm using temporary storage methods. These data are available upon request.
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
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
- Date modified: