Principal field crop areas, 2024

Released: 2024-03-11

Canadian farmers expect to plant more wheat, corn for grain, oats, lentils and dry peas in 2024, while area seeded to canola, soybeans and barley is anticipated to decrease compared with 2023.

Wheat

At the national level, farmers anticipate planting 27.0 million acres of wheat in 2024, edging up 0.1% from 2023. Spring wheat area is expected to decrease 1.2% to 19.2 million acres, while area seeded to winter wheat is expected to decline 3.6% to 1.5 million acres. Conversely, durum wheat area is anticipated to rise 5.1% to 6.3 million acres.

Farmers in Saskatchewan anticipate planting 0.1% more wheat, totalling 14.2 million acres. Spring wheat area is expected to fall 3.1% to 8.9 million acres, while durum wheat area is anticipated to increase 5.3% to 5.2 million acres.

In Alberta, farmers expect total wheat area to grow 2.2% to 8.1 million acres because of greater spring wheat area (+1.4% to 6.9 million acres), while durum wheat area is expected to increase 4.3% to 1.0 million acres.

Manitoba farmers anticipate planting 3.3 million acres of wheat, down 0.6%.

Canola

Canola area is expected to decrease 3.1% from 2023 to 21.4 million acres in 2024, roughly in line with the five-year average. The decline in expected seeded area may have been driven by lower prices for canola, in addition to other concerns including soil moisture in Western Canada.

In Saskatchewan, the province that produces the most canola, producers anticipate seeding fewer acres to canola, decreasing 4.9% to 11.8 million acres.

Farmers in Alberta anticipate seeding 6.2 million acres of canola, down 2.4%.

In Manitoba, farmers expect seeded area of canola to rise 2.4% to 3.2 million acres.

Soybeans

Nationally, farmers anticipate planting 5.6 million acres of soybeans in 2024, down 0.9% from 2023.

Farmers in Ontario, the province that produces the most soybeans, expect to plant 3.0 million acres of soybeans, up 4.3%.

Manitoba producers expect to plant fewer acres of soybeans, falling 7.2% to 1.5 million acres.

In Quebec, soybean seeded area is expected to decrease 3.9% to 962,400 acres.

Barley and oats

Nationwide, barley acreage is expected to fall 2.5% to 7.1 million acres in 2024, possibly because of lower exports and strong competition from other crops.

Barley area is expected to decrease in Saskatchewan (-0.7% to 2.8 million acres), Alberta (-3.7% to 3.7 million acres) and Manitoba (-4.5% to 395,900 acres).

Oat area is expected to rise 21.6% to 3.1 million acres, possibly because of low oat stocks resulting from low production in 2023.

Corn for grain

At the national level, farmers expect to plant 3.9 million acres of corn for grain in 2024, up 1.6% from 2023.

In Ontario, where roughly 60% of all corn for grain in Canada is grown, farmers anticipate planting 2.3 million acres, up 0.2%.

Quebec farmers expect to plant more corn for grain, rising 5.4% to 946,500 acres.

For the second year in a row, producers in Manitoba reported an increase in expected area of corn for grain, rising 5.8% in 2024 to 585,800 acres.

Lentil and dry pea

Area seeded to lentils is expected to increase compared with 2023, rising 4.4% to 3.8 million acres in 2024. Farmers in Saskatchewan, where almost 90% of Canada's lentils are grown, expect seeded area to rise 5.5% to 3.4 million acres, while lentil area in Alberta is expected to decrease 3.7% to 451,000 acres.

Farmers across Canada expect to plant more acres of dry peas in 2024, with area anticipated to rise 2.4% to 3.1 million acres compared with 2023.

Contact information

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