Ontario corn predicted to be a record in 2022

Apr 06, 2022

Farms.com Commodity Research Team says Ontario farmers to plant a record acreage of corn in 2022.

By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Photo by Christophe Maertens on Unsplash

Per a recently conducted farmer survey, the Farms.com Risk Management team said that Ontario farmers will plant 6.271 million acres of corn, soybean and wheat combined in 2022.

While the overall acreage is lower than that of 2021’s numbers (6.3 million) and 2019’s record of 6.4 million, the team’s research suggests that 2022 will see a record planting of corn in Ontario of 2.27 million acres.

This projected number for corn is, according to the Risk Management team, 5.8 percent higher than 2021’s numbers per Statistics Canada, and higher than the five-year of 2.163 million acres.

The Risk Management Team’s data also suggests that Ontario farmers will plant more soybeans—up by 5.02 percent over 2021 numbers, and with over 3-million acres predicted, it will be the second-highest planting since 2019.

Moe Agostino, Chief Commodity Strategist at Farms.com Risk Management said he is, “not surprised to hear that seed companies are reporting higher corn seed sales. But higher corn acres are being driven by record high yields from last year—Agricorp’s final yield for 21/22 was 200 bpa (bushels per acre)—and higher prices.”

Agostino and the Risk Management team also feel that input availability will not be a problem in Ontario for the 2022 planting season, “But we are missing nitrogen supplies that need to be available for the side dress season in May/June unless you want to pay a 35 percent tariff.”

Ontario only has two-thirds of the capacity required to store all farmer fertilizer needs, according to Mosaic. Between three to eight cargoes of nitrogen have been sourced from Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt and the Middle East for the side dress season during May and June—fertilizer that prior to its invasion of Ukraine, would have been sourced via the Russian Federation.

According to Stephen Denys, Director of Business Management, Maizex Seeds, “The price of corn is keeping up with input costs and is still making corn attractive to plant. Even though prices are dictating to plant more corn acres, the heavy clay regions of Essex, Lambton and Haldimand could easily switch to soybean acres if we get a wet planting season.”

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Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.