According to information released by Statistics Canada, Canadian farmers will increase seeding acreage by 3.9 per cent this year, weather permitting.
What they will be seeding is becoming clearer now with soybean and canola production expected to decrease just a bit while wheat seed planting will go up compared with last season.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg suggest that 24.8 million acres will be sown into wheat this year compared with 23.8 million acres last season.
Soybean seeding is expected to decline about 3.4 per cent to 5.4 million acres. However, soybeans are seen to be resilient when it comes to adverse weather conditions, so a difficult seeding season may change the minds of some producers at the last minute, especially if prices fall for grains and oilseeds.
The survey covered 11,500 farmers from the last two weeks of March.
Closer to home, seeding operations are now well underway in southeast Saskatchewan with the first action happening north of Weyburn, said Sherri Roberts, crop specialist with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture.
“Yes, I expect there will be a little less canola this year,” she said.
“But, we’re expecting more durum wheat this year and there is some chatter going on regarding soybeans and a little more regarding grain corn since it’s around $4.50 a bushel and it’s good for grazing,” she said.
Roberts said it could be close to being a “typical year” for specialty crops such as flax, mustard, sunflowers and canary seed (provided seed is available for sunflowers). The lack of availability of sunflower seeds was an issue last year.
“Crop insurance now covers hemp, so we might see some more of that this year, and I haven’t heard much about canary seed, except for, maybe, a little bit around the Qu’Appelle region,” she said.
Producers are rotating crops as well as can be expected, she said and there will be no shortage in barley or oats production, since they are well entrenched on the traditional list of crops to sow on a yearly basis. In fact, there might be a few extra acres put into oats in southeast Saskatchewan this time around, according to early surveys.
There continues to be an increase in interest in organic farming.
“It requires a high level of management, but it has a niche around here for sure and with good markets for the product, with the demand being there, it’s a definite draw,” Roberts said.
There are still some acreages either underwater or unworkable due to the floods of 2011 and last summer, which will have a definite impact on operations and total production, she added.
“We are seeing more land now in farmable shape whereas they were on shaky ground about this time last year. And let’s say all the sloughs and dugouts are full. Recovery is still happening and may still be happening for another year or two. It can be a very stressful situation for some,” said Roberts. She added there are opportunities for farmers to reach out for assistance, even if it is just for someone to listen to them. She pointed out that producers in the Gainsborough area were hit hard last year, and they may not be fully recovered either physically or emotionally.
“They need to know resources are available to them, specialists can help them sort through things. There are mediation experts who can be called on. So, they should never feel that they’re out there on their own with no one to talk to or no one to help them,” she said.
When it comes to the cattle crowd, Roberts said while herds are growing, the early indications are that pasture availability and conditions are good and growing with them.
“We went into last fall with all the pastures in good condition with excess moisture and it’s been carried over into this spring,” she said.
