seeder


Rainfall over the weekend will delay seeding activities, but the moisture will be a welcome sight for some areas, however the southeast corner of the province could definitely use some sunshine to help dry field conditions.

With the recent planting intention reports out from Stats Can and the USDA, the grain market is shifting its attention to weather and planting conditions.

"By and large, it gives a pretty good starting point for the market to work from in terms of getting some sense as to what the seeded area will be for the various crops," said Jonathan Driedger, Senior Analyst with Farmlink Marketing Solutions. "Now the market can focus on if there is any last-minute switching, perhaps, and then maybe more importantly, is what the yield will look like going forward."

According to the report, Canadian farmers intend on planting a record 20.4 million acres of canola and 17.2 million acres of spring wheat.

"There's no doubt that the economics, profitability and math would work out to plant the higher number of canola acres," Driedger added, "but at the end of the day, I think agronomic limitations just constrain a little bit how high we can push that number."

Driedger points out just because acres are up, it doesn't mean production will be higher if growing conditions are less than ideal.