2016 Census of Agriculture: Seeding decisions harvest opportunities for Canadian farmers
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Released: 2017-05-31
20,606,778 acres
2016
6.4% 
(period-to-period change)
5,615,864 acres
2016
41.9%
(period-to-period change)
5,584,808 acres
2016
116.5%
(period-to-period change)
3,199,644 acres
2016
-2.7% 
(period-to-period change)
1,645,397 acres
2016
133.4%
(period-to-period change)
14,556 acres
2016
253.0%
(period-to-period change)
11,069,557 acres
2016
13.2%
(period-to-period change)
241,292 acres
2016
737.9%
(period-to-period change)
5,106,444 acres
2016
106.2%
(period-to-period change)
6,165,746 acres
2016
1.5%
(period-to-period change)
6,865 acres
2016
85.9%
(period-to-period change)
463,500 acres
2016
374.0%
(period-to-period change)
With innovations in crop science, production practices, and marketing, Canadian farm operators are growing a wider variety of field crops while also expanding their production area. Canada's total field crop area increased 7.0% from 2011 to 92.7 million acres in 2016.
The largest crops in terms of acreage were canola, spring wheat, alfalfa and barley. As well, pulses and soybeans have shown considerable growth, the result of market opportunities and the development of seed varieties more suitable to broader environmental regions.
The Prairie provinces led in field crop acreage, with 83.3% of the total area in 2016.
The average field crop area per agricultural operation has doubled over the last 35 years. Canola acreage was almost six times larger in 2016 than it was in 1981, while lentil acreage was over 44 times greater in 2016 than it was in 1981.
The analytical document Seeding decisions harvest opportunities for Canadian farm operators is now available. This article is taken from an analytical series based on 2016 Census of Agriculture data.
Based on the data from the 2016 Census of Agriculture, the infographic "Field Crops in Canada" (11-627-M) gives a visual overview of the field crop sector in Canada.
The national snapshot 2016 Census of Agriculture, as well as provincial highlights, are now available online.
Products
The article "Seeding decisions harvest opportunities for Canadian farm operators", part of Farm and Farm Operator Data (95-640-x), is now available. For a complete list of our products, visit 2016 Census of Agriculture. You can also consult the CANSIM tables 004-0200 to 004-0246.
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).