Yields To Take Precedence Over Acres In Canada

Jul 02, 2015

Canadian farmers seeded a bit more canola and a bit less wheat than originally expected, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada, released Tuesday.

However, worsening drought conditions in the western Prairies over the past month and the need for reseeding due to frost damage earlier in June mean actual yields will be much more important than the acreage base going forward.

StatsCan pegged canola area at 19.84 million acres, up from 19.416 million in the agency’s April forecast, but still below the 2014 level of 20.325 million acres.

However, the bulk of the survey was conducted before farmers likely had a clear picture of how many acres were reseeded due to frost in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan. Lack of moisture in large portions of Saskatchewan and Alberta will also likely lead to some abandoned fields and lost yields.

“For some of these crops, we’ll see a fair number of acres abandoned,” said Chuck Penner of Leftfield Commodity Research.

“The ultimate number will be the harvested acreage, as well as the yield potential of that,” said Mike Jubinville of ProFarmer Canada. “The general mindset is ‘deterioration’ on both fronts, and I suspect the harvested acres will be down and the yield potential will be down as well.”

All wheat acres were down slightly in StatsCan’s report, although durum was a little higher. The agency pegged wheat plantings at 24.281 million acres, down from the 24.765 million forecast in April and in line with the 24.189 million acres seeded in 2014.

Of that total, durum area was estimated at 5.75 million acres, at the high end of trade guesses and well above the 4.75 million acres seeded in 2014.

With all of the concerns over dryness and poor growing conditions, “any adjustments around the margins on seeded area are pretty quickly overwhelmed by yield estimates and the percentage of acres that actually get harvested,” said Jon Driedger of FarmLink Marketing Solutions.

For some of the smaller crops, lentil area was up by about 500,000 acres from the previous report at 3.87 million acres. That was in line with trade guesses and compares with the 3.120 million seeded the previous year. Increased lentil acres will help offset the lower yield potential to some extent, Penner said.

However, pea acres were down a bit from the previous report, at 3.705 million acres, which he said would be supportive for prices. Canadian farmers seeded 3.795 million acres of peas in 2014.

Source : AlbertaWheat

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.