I canola ready for the crown?

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Wheat may still be king on the Prairies, but a new prince is vying for the crown.

This year, Saskatchewan farmers seeded a record numbers of acres of canola. Statistics Canada has revealed that 7.2 million acres of the oilseed are in the ground. That’s an increase of 20 per cent from last year.

The trend is similar across the rest of the Prairies, with over 14.5 million acres of canola seeded in all three provinces – an increase of 17 per cent.

At the same time, spring wheat acreage on the Prairies dropped 19 per cent to 14.8 million acres. It is the lowest level since 1970, but still just enough for spring wheat to keep the title for the biggest crop on the Prairies.

But for how long?

Darin Egert, the president of the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association, says the increase is welcome news to crop advocates who have been working hard to boost its production.

“The Canola Council of Canada rolled out a program where they wanted to significantly increase the amount of canola being grown. This is a good step towards that goal,” he stated.

The Canola Council of Canada has set a target of boosting annual production from 9.1 million tonnes in 2006 to 15 million tonnes by 2015.

Egert says consumers are helping to drive the amount of canola acres seeded each year.

“Producers are responding to the market demand. Part of it is food demand, but the biodiesel industry is also starting to grow. To fill that market, we are going to have to increase production,” he noted.

A big jump in production this year could put downward pressure on the price, but Egert predicts the dip won’t be serious.

“It may hurt the price in the short term, but we’re hoping to build more and more markets, so that it’s not an issue,” he said. “I’m confident those markets will be there. The futures market is pretty strong right now, even with the record number of acres that went in this year.”

Egert says both the marketing and production side of the equation may be benefiting from canola’s new high profile.

“There has been a lot of attention to canola. The trans fat issue is an example, where large fast food companies are adopting canola, or in New York, where the city banned trans fats. Canola has been in the news quite a bit,” he stated.

With both foreign and domestic demand for biofuels increasing, Egert and others are predicting that more and more producers will be putting canola in their rotations.

“I think the amount of acres seeded is going to keep going up. I can’t see the record being broken every year—there are going to be some ups and some downs based on market and crop rotation—but I do think the acreages will increase,” he said.

Moreover, not only is the popularity of the crop expanding, but so too is its capability. “Canola is grown in areas now that haven’t had much production in the past. The Rosetown area, for instance, has seen some significant increases,” Egert noted. “With the different varieties that are now available, you are able to grow canola under many different conditions.”

For more information, contact:
Darin Egert, President
Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association
Phone: (306) 937-2005