Canadian All Wheat Area the Highest in More than 20 Years

Apr 26, 2023

Canadian all wheat planted area will hit its highest in more than two decades this year, a Statistics Canada acreage report said Wednesday.

The report, which contains StatsCan first acreage estimates for the 2023 growing season, estimated nationwide all wheat area for harvest this year at 26.96 million acres, up 6.2% on the year and the highest since just over 27 million acres were planted in 2001. The estimate came in on the high end of re-report trade guesses that ranged from 25.5 million to 27 million acres.

New-crop spring wheat area is expected to expand 7.5% on the year to 19.38 million acres, also the highest since 2001 (20.57 million acres). Durum acres are projected to see a much more modest increase, ticking up less than 1% to 6.06 million – still the highest since 6.18 million in 2018. National winter wheat acres, at 1.51 million acres, are estimated up 12.7% from last year although still below the 1.69 million that were planted for harvest in 2021.

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Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.