OTTAWA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — Canada’s wheat production is projected to grow by 4.1 percent year over year to 34.3 million tonnes in 2024, Statistics Canada said Monday.
The increase is expected to be led by higher yields, which are anticipated to rise by 5.7 percent to 48.4 bushels per acre. Harvested area is expected to decrease by 1.6 percent to 26 million acres, according to recent yield model estimates using satellite imagery and agroclimatic data.
Spring wheat production is expected to fall by 1 percent to 25.3 million tonnes. Spring wheat yields are anticipated to increase by 2.5 percent to 50.1 bushels per acre, while harvested area is expected to decrease by 3.4 percent to 18.5 million acres, the national statistical agency said.
The anticipated increase in total wheat production is largely attributable to durum wheat. Harvested area is expected to increase by 5.3 percent to 6.2 million acres, while yields are anticipated to jump by 40.2 percent to 35.9 bushels per acre, contributing to higher anticipated durum wheat production of 6 million tonnes, the agency said.
Across parts of the Prairies, lower-than-average precipitation and prolonged high temperatures have resulted in a decline in crop conditions from the beginning of the season, although conditions were up in some areas compared with a year earlier, the agency said.
Statistics Canada, in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has relied upon satellite technology to model preliminary crop yields and production since 2016.
