Winter Cereals Canada expects tighter than average supplies of fall seeded cereal crops this year as a result of reduced plantings last fall and potential losses from frost that hit a couple of weeks ago.
Acres seeded to winter wheat in Manitoba and Saskatchewan last fall dropped to the 200,000 range from a peak a couple of years in 600,000 range, while acres in Alberta remained constant in the range of 100,000.
Jake Davidson, the executive director of Winter Cereals Canada, reports the crop that was planted came through the winter really well but the big question now is what the frost that hit Manitoba a couple of weeks ago has done to the crop.
Jake Davidson-Winter Cereals Canada:
The winter wheat has traditionally been a very popular crop with hog farmers and has been very popular with the colonies and the crop for both the hogs and their poultry operations.
If the winter wheat takes a bit of a kicking it does make quite a difference.
They will kick into spring crops and hope they get what they want, but the large colonies especially love the idea of the winter wheat because it spreads out that harvest load in the fall.
As far as winter wheat goes it has been a significant source as an energy ingredient.
The winter wheat is an energy ingredient in the hog and poultry industry, especially the on farm mixing industry.
Source : Farmscape