Crops

Wheat still king, but farmers move to other crops
Soybeans increase in Manitoba
Potato area up
Ontario grows most grain corn

Wheat still king, but farmers move to other crops

The transformation in agriculture is well illustrated by the crop sector. Area planted to crops is up and farmers are changing the types of crops they are growing. Wheat still represents the largest area, with 26.8 million acres, despite having the largest decline of all field crops since 1996. Barley still has the second largest area but, like wheat, it is shrinking, declining by a further 10% in 2001.

Spring wheat is still the dominant crop in the Prairie provinces, but its area declined dramatically between 1996 and 2001: by 8.1% in Manitoba, 23.1% in Saskatchewan, and 9.9% in Alberta.

Wheat farmers had received a double blow in the mid- to late nineties, with falling wheat prices and increased costs to get their grain to the nearest port. A 1995 legislative change had phased out the Western Canada Grain Transportation Act, successor to the Crow Rate, which had helped offset farmers' grain transportation costs. The effects of both were evident in 2001.

For some parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, 2001 was the second or third straight year of severe shortages in precipitation, an added blow for a sector already plagued by falling crop prices and other economic pressures.

Drought conditions affect seeding patterns and some types of wheat, such as durum (up 3.9%), are more drought resistant than others. Substituting crops cannot always combat drought conditions, and the serious shortage of precipitation was reflected in near-record crop insurance payments in 2001. Moisture shortages also affect the availability of livestock feed, forcing farmers to turn fallow land into productive land, or improve existing pastureland to feed their animals.

While wheat's grip as the dominant crop continued to weaken, the trend is not new. Diversification to other crops has been ongoing for decades. Since 1986, wheat area has declined by 23.7%, whereas the area of land planted to oilseeds has increased by 45%. They now account for 15.8% of national crop area.

Pulse crops — dry field peas, lentils and beans — are up noticeably. Increases in dry field peas and beans were most pronounced in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Lentil area also more than doubled since the last census, the third largest increase of all crops. Pulse crops, because they can "fix" nitrogen in the soil, require less fertilizer than cereal grains or most oilseeds. Farmers find the higher value and lower fertilizer costs associated with pulses make them an attractive alternative crop as the expenses associated with producing a crop increase.

More than 100 countries import Canada's pulse crops. South Asia, with its large vegetarian population, consumes more pulse crops than any region in the world. Europe, particularly Spain where Canada's field peas are used for animal feed, is another prime export destination.

Soybeans increase in Manitoba

Among oilseeds, soybeans are showing the most dramatic increases. In Manitoba, total soybean area jumped from barely 600 acres in 1996 to more than 50,000 in 2001. New soybean varieties developed for shorter growing seasons, and demand from the province's growing hog industry for feed greatly influenced the increase. Despite increases in other provinces, Ontario remains by far the main soybean producer, with 84.1% of the 2.7 million acres in Canada. Quebec is a distant second.

Potato area up

Potato area has risen 12.8% since 1996 to 418,783 acres. Prince Edward Island accounted for one-quarter of total area, followed by Manitoba. In Alberta, potato area jumped by 85.3% since 1996, moving it from sixth to fourth place in terms of potato area. Alberta is now tied with New Brunswick in potato area.

Most of the increase is due to specialized processing plants demanding more potatoes to supply both the domestic and export markets' insatiable appetite for french fries.

Ontario grows most grain corn

Grain corn, a high-energy source of animal feed, remains an important crop in Ontario, where nearly two-thirds of the Canadian total is grown. Farmers have increased their grain corn area, bringing the national total to 3.2 million acres compared with 2.8 million acres in 1996.

Quebec's increase in grain corn area was the largest in absolute terms since 1996, and Manitoba has also had noteworthy increases. The increases in grain corn, a staple feed for hogs, in both Quebec and Manitoba have been driven by the significant increase in hog production in those provinces.

Grain corn is also used in many products including corn syrup, corn starch, corn oil and ethanol. Ethanol is an environmentally friendly, crop-derived alcohol that can be added to gasoline to increase octane levels and improve engine performance with cleaner-burning fuel. One step towards reducing greenhouse gases is the government proposal to make a 10% ethanol content mandatory in gasoline. Ethanol blends are already available across Canada.