Prairie winter wheat acreage to climb

Published: August 5, 2010

(Resource News International) — The area seeded to winter wheat in Western Canada will increase from last year’s level, but limited quantities of seed will restrict the acreage jump, an industry official said.

Seeded area in Western Canada was expected to hit 800,000 acres in the fall of 2010, up from 600,000 planted in the fall of 2009.

Jake Davidson of Winter Cereals Canada at Minnedosa, Man. projects that of the 2010 winter wheat area, 400,000 acres will be in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and 400,000 more in Alberta.

With unseeded acres higher than normal across Manitoba and Saskatchewan this year due to abnormally high precipitation, many producers plan on seeding winter wheat this fall into the previously-flooded land, Davidson said.

Read Also

The Chicago Board of Trade Building. Photo: Kevinstack22/iStock/Getty Images

U.S. grains: Corn rebounds from contract lows on short covering, bargain buying

Bargain buying and short covering lifted U.S. corn futures on Monday after the market slid to contract lows on expectations for strong U.S. output, traders said.

But with only 200,000 acres seeded in 2009, and wheat prices flying through the roof, finding seed will be a challenge.

“The people who I’ve talked to with seed, they are all out,” Davidson said. “If you have a chance to find some seed, jump on it.”

The good news for producers is that as soon as winter wheat is harvested, it can go right back into the ground as seed.

With a lot of acreage still very wet, Davidson expects next year’s crop to be a good one.

“It’ll be able to use all of the moisture that’s still in the ground. Assuming we have a normal winter, it’ll have a great start.”

About the author

GFM Network News

GFM Network News

Glacier FarmMedia Feed

Glacier FarmMedia, a division of Glacier Media, is Canada's largest publisher of agricultural news in print and online.

explore

Stories from our other publications