Even without the benefit of the actual numbers, it is easy to see Ontario corn and soybean yields in 2022 did not quite measure up to a year earlier.
Yield maps released earlier this week by provincial crop insurer Agricorp show generally strong yields for both corn and soybeans in counties such as Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, Perth and Huron this past year. However, those areas of the province with the very best performing crops were generally spottier compared to 2021, when the average provincial yields set new highs.
Indeed, one of the biggest outliers in the 2022 maps versus 2021 (see below) is the relatively poor yields that were reaped at the far western end of Lake Ontario. Much of that decline can be attributed to hot, dry conditions in the summer, with much of that same area still experiencing severe to extreme drought as of the end of November.
According to Statistics Canada’s final crop production report in December, the average provincial corn yield in 2022 came in at 166 bu/acre, down more than 9 bu or 5.2% from the previous year’s 175.2 bu. For soybeans, the average yield in 2022, at 48 bu/acre, was down 3.6 bu from 51.6 bu in 2021.
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