With crop yields up overall, Canadian farmers grew more soybeans but less corn in 2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Canadian farmers reported growing more wheat, oats, soybeans, dry peas and lentils, but less canola, corn and barley in 2024, according to the production of principle fields crops report from Statistics Canada.

The government agency said that overall yields were higher this year compared with 2023 but there were some areas where farmers continued to face issues related to dry conditions.

This was true particularly in western Canada, which the report states had a promising start to the 2024 growing season.

It noted that much of the prairies received timely precipitation during seeding, although cool conditions delayed crop development in some areas.

Yet a lack of rain as the summer progressed, coupled with hot weather, resulted in lower yields in some areas compared with 2023.

There were good field conditions throughout the fall months which allowed farmers to complete harvest ahead of schedule, with most crops out of the fields before data collection for the November field crop survey.

The agency said there were locations that did receive above-average rainfall, specifically in Ontario and western Quebec, which when combined with increased summer heat benefitted growers with higher yields.

Total wheat production rose 6.1% to 35 million tonnes in 2024, with Saskatchewan wheat production rising 12.2% to 16.5 million tonnes in 2024. In Alberta, higher yields resulted in a 6.4% increase in wheat production to 9.9 million tonnes, while Manitoba was up 0.7% to 5.5 million tonnes.

Canola production decreased 7.0% nationally to 17.8 million tonnes in 2024, with this drop because of lower yields and harvested area, with the declined output attributed to the hot and dry conditions in parts of western Canada in July and August.

Total corn for grain production fell 0.5% to 15.3 million tonnes in 2024 with harvested area down by 4.6% to 3.6 million acres, offsetting a 4.3% increase in yields to 168.7 bushels/acre.

Ontario farmers, who grow almost two-thirds of Canada’s corn were down 3.5% to 9.6 million tonnes, while Quebec rose 7.9% to 3.6 million tonnes in 2024. Manitoba farmers had 1.8 million tonnes in 2024 with lower harvested area, but yields were up 8.6% to 139.4 bushels/acre.

Soybean production increased 8.4% nationally to 7.6 million tonnes in 2024 with the increase due to higher yields, which were up by 7.0% to stand at 49.1 bushels/acre, while the harvested area for the crop increased 1.3% to 5.7 million acres.

In Ontario soybean production climbed 7.9% year on year to 4.4 million tonnes in 2024, while in Manitoba the harvested area fell 10.9% to 1.4 million acres in 2024. Production in Quebec rose 9.3% to 1.4 million tonnes in 2024, on higher yields and harvested area.

Barley production was decreased by 8.6% to 8.1 million tonnes in 2024 because of lower harvested area, which the report said was partially offset by a 3.3% increase in yields to 63.2 bushels/acre nationally.

Total oat production increased by 27.0% to 3.4 million tonnes as both harvested area and yields increased in 2024.

The improvements in crop output reflects the sentiment towards fertilizer consumption within in Canada this year, with nitrogen and potash volumes having robust periods of consumption during the spring.

There were additional stretches of demand with significant refill participant and a good post-harvest run of ammonia also taking place before the recent arrival of winter conditions.

Sentiment is that spring demand could continue at a strong pace if nutrient values do not escalate over the coming weeks and if future crop prices either stay steady or can gain some slightly increase before sowings start again.