Canadian Soybean Yields Hit Historic Highs

Ottawa, ON – Canadian soybean farmers grew a record-breaking crop in 2024, with record yields across the country. Nationally, yields grew a remarkable seven per cent over 2023 with Western Canada leading the way.

“It’s fantastic to see our yields smash records across the country,” says Soy Canada executive director Brian Innes. “The results we’re seeing are encouraging for everyone across the value chain as they demonstrate what is possible with investment and innovation.”

On December 5, 2024, Statistics Canada released its 2024 survey-based production estimates. The release showed that western Canadian yields increased substantially with a 21 per cent increase over 2023 hitting 43.5 bushels per acre. The yields beat the previous record set in 2022 of 42.6 bushels per acre by over three per cent. In the last five years, western Canadian soy yields have averaged 37 bushels per acre with two of the last three years representing historic highs.

Eastern Canada also set new records with a record yield of 51.3 bushels per acre – beating the previous record set only last year of 50.3 bushels per acre. While there were local pockets where weather reduced yields, each province had impressive results. For example, Quebec produced more soy than at any time in its history, with 1.39 million tonnes – a 9 per cent increase from the 2023 crop that was the previous record.

“These historic yield increases show the momentum behind our industry,” says Innes. “The exciting part is that the conversations around our table show us that there’s even more potential left to go as we add more value to our production and soybeans become a more prominent and consistent crop in the rotation of western Canadian farmers.”

These yields drove a production increase of eight per cent nationally to 7.6 million tonnes in 2024 compared to 2023. This is the second highest amount of production in the history of the industry. Higher yields and higher production numbers will drive further growth throughout the value chain as the soy industry continues to serve food and feed needs in Canada and around the world.

Soy Canada is a national value-chain organization for the soybean sector, including seed companies, growers, exporters, and processors. Created in 2014, we provide industry leadership on issues affecting the growth and profitability of the soybean sector, coordinate research efforts across the value chain and across the country, as well as lead on market access and market development efforts. Canada is a global leader in producing high quality, sustainable and trusted soybeans for world markets. Soybeans are among the top three most valuable crops in Canada, with 70 per cent of production exported each year.