(Resource News International) — The debate on just how much corn will be planted in Manitoba continues to rage, with some market participants not willing to go along with a recent Statistics Canada acreage survey that suggested seeded area will be down in 2008.
Seeded area to corn in Manitoba in the April 21 survey from Statistics Canada was forecast to come in at 225,000 acres this spring. Of that total, 170,000 acres would consist of grain corn and 55,000 of fodder corn. In 2007, seeded area to corn in Manitoba totalled 275,000 acres, of which 200,000 was grain corn and 75,000 fodder.
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“Based on the feedback I’m getting from our members, corn area in Manitoba will actually be higher than what it was in 2007,” said Murray Pritchard, vice-president of the Manitoba Corn Growers Association.
Corn prices for growers have been very attractive and even with the high input costs, producers will easily be able to generate favourable returns, he said.
“I’ve also been talking with a number of seed dealers and they are indicating that seed sales of corn in the province are 10 to 20 per cent above the year-ago level,” Pritchard said.
The only factor that could limit the acreage base for corn is the weather, he acknowledged.
“Soil temperatures have not warmed up to the point where Manitoba producers will be aggressively seeding corn,” said Chris Beckman, a coarse grain analyst with the market analysis division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Winnipeg. “That is the major concern at this time.”
Last year at this time, soil temperatures had warmed up considerably, with producers able to get into the fields early, he said.
Beckman, however, also acknowledged that corn area in Manitoba would be higher than the year-ago level based on the strong price outlook for the crop.
“Producers in Manitoba have been looking at $6 a bushel or better for corn, so with a 150-bushel an acre yield, combined with 900 to 1,000 acres of land, that would generate some pretty good returns,” said one cash dealer who did not want his name used.
The dealer said that would definitely provide enough funds to cover the cost of any inputs the crop required.
As for the weather issue, the dealer pointed out that improvements in corn varieties will help alleviate some of those concerns.
“The improvements include shorter-season, less heat unit requirements, and in some cases higher yields,” the dealer said.
