Jury Out on Sunflower Crop

Sunflowers stood out in Monday’s Statistics Canada report as being one of the very few Prairie crops expected to see a production decline this year compared to 2021. 

However, industry sources report mostly excellent sunflower conditions, certainly better than a year ago when severe and widespread drought badly dented the production of most crops. 

“Last year, we had a lot of heat stress through the growing season and a lack of moisture. This year, we’ve had ample moisture and very little heat stress,” said Manitoba Crop Alliance director Gregg Fotheringham, who grows sunflowers near Reston in the southwest corner of the province. “There’s been very little insect damage and better growing conditions all the way around.”   

In its model-based production estimates this week, using a combination of satellite imagery and agroclimatic data, Statistics Canada estimated 2022 Canadian sunflower output at just under 62,000 tonnes, down almost 20,000 from a year earlier and potentially the smallest crop in five years. Sunflower seeded and harvested area is estimated down from last year, but StatsCan also put the average yield at 1,681 lbs/acre, a surprising drop of 7% from 2021. 

Heavy rains in Manitoba, where most of Canada’s sunflowers are grown, caused a delay in spring seeding which resulted in the drop in acres. But sunny and warm weather in August has been improving the condition of the crop.