Flax acres could drop again in 2023

Jan 17, 2023

Canadian flax acres dropped last year, but yields rebounded nicely in many areas.

Chuck Penner with LeftField Commodity Research says we saw lower acres despite new crop bids of $24-25 a bushel.

He says that while acreage was down, yields rebounded allowing supplies to recover to where we were before the drought, but certainly not a big supply situation.

Unfortunately, flax exports this year have not been encouraging.

Canada has three key buyers of flax that take about a third of the crop each, the U-S, China and the E.U.

In 2022, Canada shipped some containers into China and the EU, but most of our flax exports this year went to the U-S, which has a limited market.

Penner points out that Russia and Kzachstan have been boosting their flax production which was having an impact for some sale opportunities.

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Video: Residue Management

Residue Management conservation practice manages the amount, orientation, and distribution of crop and other plant residue on the soil surface year-round while limiting soil-disturbing activities used to grow and harvest crops in systems where the field surface is tilled prior to planting. This video explores how Ryan McKenzie implemented this conservation practice on his farm in Samson, Alabama.

Practice benefits:

• Increases organic matter

• Improves air quality

• Decreases energy costs

• Reduces erosion

• Improves soil health

The Conservation at Work video series was created to increase producer awareness of common conservation practices and was filmed at various locations throughout the country. Because conservation plans are specific to the unique resource needs on each farm and also soil type, weather conditions, etc., these videos were designed to serve as a general guide to the benefits of soil and water conservation and landowners should contact their local USDA office for individual consultation.