Canola, soybeans and oat stocks down compared to 2016, says Stats Canada

May 05, 2017

Wheat, corn for grain and barley stocks rose

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Total 2017 stocks of canola, soybeans and oats are down when compared to March 31, 2016, according to a new report from Stats Canada.

The March Farm Survey collected information from 11,600 farmers between March 16 and 31.

Total wheat stocks were at 16.6 million metric tonnes on March 31 of this year, up 15.5 per cent from March 31, 2016, according to the information released May 5.

In Saskatchewan, stock levels were up by 11.1 per cent to 5.9 million tonnes, and wheat stocks in Alberta jumped by 26.9 per cent to 4.2 million tonnes.

Canola
Canola stocks were down by 23.3 per cent on March 31, to 6.6 million tonnes, when compared to data from 2016. On-farm stocks in Saskatchewan fell by 32.1 per cent to 2.3 million tonnes, and farm stocks in Alberta decreased by 24.5 per cent to 1.8 million tonnes.

Corn for grain
Compared to information from 2016, grain corn stocks were up by 7.7 per cent as of March 31, 2017, totaling 8.4 million tonnes. Farm stocks in Quebec jumped by 6.2 per cent to 2.1 million tonnes.

Soybeans
Soybean stocks fell by 4.2 per cent to 1.9 million tonnes. On-farm stocks dropped by 19.6 per cent to 930,000 tonnes. In Ontario, on-farm stocks decreased by 33.8 per cent to 460,000 tonnes.

Barley and oats
Total barley stocks increased by 22.6 per cent to 4.6 million tonnes as of March 31, which is a 6.8 per cent increase from data in 2016. Farm stocks rose by 24.2 per cent to 4.3 million tonnes.

Oat stocks decreased by 8.5 per cent to 1.7 million tonnes.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.