Greater area and higher yields push wheat production higher
Canadian farmers produced more wheat, soybeans, corn for grain, barley and oats in 2020 as a result of favourable conditions compared with the previous year, while canola production was down from a year earlier.
Although 2020 has been a difficult year for all Canadians including some agricultural operators due to COVID-19, challenges associated with the pandemic do not appear to have affected principal field crop production.
Crop conditions were relatively dry across much of Canada throughout the year, with the exception of most of Alberta and northern Saskatchewan.
This spring, dry conditions provided most farmers with the opportunity to complete planting on schedule.
A lack of rain persisted into the summer, potentially affecting crop yields.
Harvest conditions nationwide were significantly improved compared with 2019, with favourable weather conditions helping farmers complete harvesting early in many areas.
In fact, in parts of Western Canada, most of the crops were already harvested prior to the start of survey collection on October 9, 2020.
Total wheat production rose 7.7% to 35.2 million tonnes in 2020 largely due to higher production on the Prairies. Yields (+3.8% to 52.2 bushels per acre) and harvested area (+3.8% to 24.8 million acres) were both up from a year earlier.
In Saskatchewan, wheat yields increased 1.8% to 45.9 bushels per acre, while harvested area increased 2.2% to 12.8 million acres, resulting in a 4.1% rise in wheat production to 16.0 million tonnes.
Both yields (+6.7% to 55.8 bushels per acre) and harvested area (+0.9% to 7.3 million acres) were up in Alberta, resulting in a 7.6% increase in production to 11.0 million tonnes.
In Manitoba, wheat production was up 4.4% to 5.3 million tonnes. Yields increased 0.8% to 61.3 bushels per acre, while harvested area rose 3.5%.
