Wheat Acres Little Changed from April Intentions

By and large, Canadian producers stuck to their original wheat plans this year.

A Statistics Canada acreage report released Tuesday put 2021 nationwide all wheat planted area at 23.35 million acres, little changed from April intentions of 23.26 million. That is down 6.5% from a year earlier but tops the average pre-report trade guess of 22.8 million, with some analysts expecting that an increase in canola area would come at the expense of wheat.

National spring wheat area is estimated at 16.47 million acres, up from April intentions of 16.33 million although still down about 8% from the 17.92 million seeded in 2020. Durum area came in at 5.53 million acres, versus intentions of 5.7 million and 5.68 million last year. Winter wheat area for harvest in 2021 is pegged at 1.3 million acres, up from 1.21 million in April but down 1.4% from a year ago.

“Global wheat production is anticipated to increase compared to last year. If realized, higher worldwide production could result in lower wheat prices for Canadian farmers, possibly influencing some to plant less wheat than the previous year,” StatsCan said.

In Saskatchewan, all wheat area for this year is now pegged at 11.99 million acres, compared to intentions of 12.07 million and 12.84 million last year. At 7.43 million acres, spring wheat area in the province is up slightly from intentions of 7.32 million but down from 8.05 million in 2020. Saskatchewan durum area is reported at 4.51 million acres, compared to 4.69 million in April and 4.64 million last year.

Alberta producers reported 6.94 million acres of all wheat, up slightly from April intentions of 6.89 million but below 7.41 million a year ago. Spring wheat area in the province is estimated at 5.84 million, versus April intentions of 5.82 million and 6.31 million in 2020, while durum plantings came in at 988,500 acres, down slightly from 1 million in April and 1.01 million a year ago.

Today’s report put Manitoba all wheat area at 2.89 million acres, up from 2.84 million in April but still below 3.16 million last year.

Ontario all wheat area for 2021 is estimated at 1.17 million acres, compared to 1.08 million in April and 1.15 million in 2020. Remaining winter wheat acres are pegged at 1.08 million, up from 982,400 in April and 1.03 million a year earlier. Spring wheat area is estimated 96,800 acres, down from 106,000 in April and 116,500 in 2020.