Farmers Yield Record Harvest, Statistics Canada

Dec 05, 2013

Canadian farmers yielded records crops this year, according to a Statistics Canada report.

The report said that while farmers had a late start to planting, good weather led to higher than normal yields for canola, wheat and soybean growers.

Canola and wheat production reaches record levels

Here are the highlights:

? Canola increased 29.5 per cent from 2012, 18.0 million tonnes
? Wheat increased 38.0 per cent from 2012, 37.5 million tonnes
? Barley increased nearly 28 percent from 2012, 10.2 million tonnes

Corn and soybean production also set records

? Corn increased 8.7 per cent
? Soybeans were up 2.2 per cent

The good news is that farmers’ crops yielded well. The bad news is that they are unable to move their grain fast enough, delaying overseas shipments and missing out on market opportunities. This situation is especially true for growers in western Canada, who say there is a shortage of rail cars available to transport grain to the ports.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.