Stocks of principal field crops, December 31, 2019
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Released: 2020-02-05
As of December 31, 2019, total stocks of barley, oats and dry peas were all up compared with the same date in 2018, while total stocks of wheat, canola, corn for grain, lentils and soybeans were down.
Because of poor weather conditions during harvest, a substantial amount of crops likely remained unharvested at the time of the survey. Farmers were asked to include only crops harvested and currently in storage when reporting stocks of principal field crops. Crops harvested after the collection period for the December survey will be included in later surveys.
Wheat
Total wheat stocks were down 0.5% year over year to 25.0 million tonnes as of December 31, 2019. On-farm stocks were up 1.5% to 20.8 million tonnes, while commercial stocks decreased 9.6% to 4.2 million tonnes.
Despite a 0.5% increase in total wheat production at the national level in 2019, lower carry-in stocks (down 10.3% from the previous year to 6.0 million tonnes) were responsible for the drop in total stocks. Lower wheat exports compared with the same period a year earlier contributed to the decrease in commercial stocks.
Canola
Overall, stocks of canola were down 2.4% year over year to 14.3 million tonnes as of December 31, 2019. This decrease was attributable to a 5.9% decline in on-farm stocks to 12.4 million tonnes, which offset a 28.6% increase in commercial stocks to 1.9 million tonnes.
Despite higher carry-in stocks (+52.9%), lower canola production in 2019, coupled with higher industrial use (+8.0%), led to the decline in total canola stocks. Canola exports were down 14.7%, or 641 100 tonnes, year over year, largely because of lower exports to China.
Corn for grain
Total stocks of corn for grain were down 8.1% year over year to 10.7 million tonnes as of December 31, 2019. On-farm stocks fell 5.8%, while commercial stocks decreased 14.3%.
Lower production in 2019 and lower carry-in stocks from the previous crop year were responsible for the decrease in total corn stocks.
Soybeans
Nationally, soybean stocks fell 9.4% year over year to 3.9 million tonnes as of December 31, 2019. On-farm stocks, down 14.2% to 2.4 million tonnes, were responsible for the decrease, while commercial stocks were unchanged.
Barley
Barley stocks rose 20.6% year over year to 6.0 million tonnes as of December 31, 2019. On-farm stocks were largely responsible for the increase, rising 19.5% to 5.6 million tonnes. Commercial stocks increased 36.5% to 403 900 tonnes.
Barley production rose 23.9% to 10.4 million tonnes in 2019, offsetting record low carry-in stocks and pushing total stocks higher.
Oats
Nationally, stocks of oats rose 11.0% year over year to 2.7 million tonnes as of December 31, 2019. Both on-farm stocks (+9.0%) and commercial stocks (+30.9%) contributed to the increase.
Dry peas and lentils
Stocks of dry peas rose 3.2% year over year to 2.6 million tonnes as of December 31, 2019. On-farm stocks (up 8.0% to 2.4 million tonnes) were responsible for the increase, which offset a 26.7% decrease in commercial stocks.
Meanwhile, stocks of lentils were down 14.9%. On-farm stocks decreased 14.3% to 1.6 million tonnes, while commercial stocks fell 19.9% to 180 700 tonnes.
The decline in the total stocks of lentils was attributable to lower carry-in stocks (-27.7%), higher exports (+18.6%) and greater domestic disappearance (+39.6%).
Note to readers
Data on stocks of principal field crops held on farms come from the December Farm Survey of about 8,600 Canadian farmers conducted from December 13, 2019, to January 15, 2020. The 2019 field crop survey for December also has two questions pertaining to permanent on-farm grain storage capacity and the percentage of grain stored on farms 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.
National supply-disposition tables for the major grains and special crops are published jointly with the current release on stock levels and are available in online data tables 32-10-0013-01, 32-10-0014-01 and 32-10-0015-01.
Stocks data are subject to revision during the two years following their initial publication.
Readers are invited to visit the Agriculture and Food Statistics portal for more data related to agriculture and food published by Statistics Canada.
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).
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