Another dry season steals Canadian crop output

Widespread drought across the Prairies this year has seen Canadian grain, pulse and oilseed production fall year-on-year, and the nation’s agricultural commodity exports are forecast to suffer the same fate in 2023-24 on the back of the lower exportable surplus, according to the October outlook for principal field crops from Statistics Canada. With the winter-spring crop harvest done and dusted and the summer crop harvest drawing to a close, Canada’s principal field crop production is estimated to have decreased by 13pc from 97.1 million tonnes (Mt) in 2022-23 to 84.5Mt this season. Abandonment of parched crops saw a one percent increase in the planted area compared to the previous season eroded by the time headers started to roll this year, resulting in an unchanged harvested area of 30.5 million hectares (Mha). The average yield across all crop types fell from 3.19 tonnes per hectare to 2.77t/ha. Total wheat production is estimated at 29.8Mt, down from the third biggest crop on ...