04/27/05 Canadian planting intentions

Farm and Ranch April 27, 2005 Stats Canada issued a report last week showing that Canadian farmers plan to sow 2.1% fewer acres of spring wheat this year. If that holds total Canadian wheat plantings for 2005 would be down 1.5% from 2004. Recall that U.S. farmers said they would increase spring wheat acreage by four percent this year but total U.S. planted wheat acreage is expected to be down two percent from last year. Canadian farmers do plan on increasing durum acreage by 5.5 percent. Chris Beckman, an analyst with at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, says Canadian farmers say they will plant over a million less acres of canola. Beckman: "Canola area we are looking at area going down by about eight percent and this due to low prices for canola." But Canadian farmers said they would increase flaxseed acreage by 19 percent. David Burroughs of Stats Canada says Canadian farmers say they will also increase oats plantings over 14 percent from last year. Burroughs: "Oats has a fairly stable price, at least it has this year. There is also a fairly good market for it and very little input in terms of fertilizer, pesticides and things as compared to canola." Canadian barley acreage may be up less than one percent. Dry field pea acreage could be down just under two percent. Canadian farmers expect to increase the number of acres they summerfallow by over eight percent I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.