Plantings of Manitoba’s three biggest acreage crops — canola, wheat and soybeans — are all projected to be higher in 2015, according to the Manitoba Agricultural Service Corporation’s (MASC) latest estimate.
Based on assessing 94 per cent of farmers’ seeded acreage reports filed for crop insurance MASC estimates Manitoba farmers this spring sowed 3.2 million acres of canola, 2.6 million acres of red spring wheat and 1.45 million acres of soybeans, up six, 18 and 12 per cent, respectively from 2014.
Canola continues to account for the most acres of annual crop in the province, however, when all wheat acres — red spring, feed and winter — are combined they’re not far behind at 3.14 million.
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While red spring wheat acres are estimated to be up 18 per cent from 2014, feed wheat plantings are 25 per cent higher, while winter wheat acres fell by 57 per cent.
Farmers increased their plantings of most crops this spring with the exception of winter wheat, grain corn and dry edible beans down 57, 10 and eight per cent, respectively.
Silage corn plantings are up 25 per cent to an estimated 88,129 acres compared to 226,257 acres for grain corn.
The crop with the biggest percentage increase is flax up 55 per cent to an estimated 128,894 acres. Next are oil sunflowers and oats up 44 and 34 per cent, respectively. Despite the jump in oil sunflowers, non-oil sunflower acres, up six per cent, are the higher of the two at an estimated 64,966 acres.
MASC estimates farmers planted almost 68,000 acres of field peas this spring, up 22 per cent from 2014.
An estimated 177,884 acres were too wet to seed in 2015 down dramatically from almost 1.03 million in 2014.
