Quality of western Canadian canola 2020

Weather and production review

Weather review - effects on seeding and harvest

The weather review and weather maps (Figures 2 to 5) were obtained from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Seeding and harvest progress graphs for each province (Figures 6a & 6b) were made using data reported by the provincial reports for Manitoba, for Saskatchewan and for Alberta.

Seeded area (Figure 7a) and production data (Figure 7b) were obtained from Statistic Canada.

Seeding conditions:  Due to a wet and snowy fall in 2019, some crops within the three Prairie provinces remained unharvested and were left over the winter. This 2019 crop had to be harvested prior to the start of any 2020 seeding activity. This added field work plus having April-May temperatures below normal (Figure 2) lead to a slight delay in 2020 seeding compared to last year (Figure 6a). However, dry conditions in May (Figure 3) allowed seeding to proceed to near completion and/or completion by the first week of June for the three provinces. Although average precipitation was lower (Figure 3), canola seeds were able to emerge and develope due to adequate soil moisture as a result of the wet 2019 autumn (Figure 4).

Growing season: Figure 2 shows cooler than normal temperatures in July in some parts of Alberta-Peace River and Saskatchewan, whereas the other parts of the Prairies showed warmer than average temperatures. In August, the three Prairie provinces showed overall warmer than normal temperatures. During July and August, there were significant differences in the number of days above 30ºC between the southern and northern parts of the Prairies (Figure 5). It has been reported that heat can affect canola yield and canola quality (after flowering). Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada agro-climate maps show the lowest temperatures, likely at night, ranging from 1ºC to over 17ºC. Overall, the night temperatures were warmer than last year as departure from normal showed a temperature increase (Figure 2). Night temperatures seemed to be one of the factors affecting oil content and fatty acid composition for canola seeds. Warmer temperatures lowered the oil content and the total unsaturation of the oil.

Precipitation was also an issue during the growing season. It was found to be adequate in some areas and too much or too little in other areas as shown in Figure 3.

Harvesting conditions: In 2020, harvest started mid-August in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (Figure 6b).  The first week of September, the 2020 harvest was well ahead of the 2019 harvest. The harvest was able to progress at a steady pace thanks to mostly dry weather conditions in September and October (Figure 3). By the third week of October, the 2020 canola harvest was considered complete for the three Prairie provinces (Figure 6b).

Figure 2 – Monthly mean temperature difference from normal in Canada (Prairies) during the 2020 growing season (May to October 2020)

Figure 3 – Departure from average precipitation in Canada (Prairies) during the 2020 growing season (May to October 2020)

Figure 4 – Palmer Drought Index in Canada (Prairies) as of May 31, 2020

Figure 5 – Number of days with temperatures above 30^oC in Canada (Prairies) from April 1 to July 27, 2020 and April 1 to August 31, 2020

Production

The number of hectares (ha) of canola seeded in Canada since 2000 is presented in Figure 7a. In 2020, it was estimated that canola producers seeded about 161.7 thousand-hectares less when compare to 2019 (8,410.0 vs. 8,571.7 thousand-hectares), about 4.3% less than the 5-year average (8,787.9 thousand-hectares). This is about 903.4 thousand-hectares less than the 2017 record year when 9,313.4 thousand-hectares of canola were seeded (Figure 7a).

Statistics Canada reported that the 2020 western Canada average yield was estimated at 2,250 kg/ha, slightly lower than what was observed in 2019 (2,319 kg/ha) and for the 5-year yield average (2,298 kg/ha). In 2020, the highest average yield was observed in Manitoba at 2,321 kg/ha (2,354 kg/ha in 2019), followed by Alberta (2,253 kg/ha in 2020 vs. 2,259 kg/ha in 2019) and Saskatchewan at 2,231 kg/ha (2,339 kg/ha in 2019). There was a noticeable yield decrease in British Columbia in 2020 when compared to 2019 (1,681 kg/ha in 2020 vs. 2,331 kg/ha in 2019).

Over the last 4 years, Canadian canola production (Figure 7b) showed a decrease resulting from lower seeded hectares, especially in Saskatchewan, and with less than favourable growing and harvesting conditions (especially in 2019, Figure 6b). As of January 2021, Statistics Canada reported an estimated Canadian canola production of 18,719,700 metric tonnes (MT), about 0.887 million MT less than last year’s production (19.607 MT) and about 1.2 MT less than the 5-year average (19.607 MT). This represents about 2.7 MT less than the recorded production of 21.328 MT reported in 2017 (Figure 7). In 2020, Saskatchewan grew 54.5% of the Canadian canola, compared to 56.6 in 2019. Alberta, Manitoba and British-Columbia grew 27.8, 17.0 and 0.3% of the Canadian canola, respectively. The main production areas in 2019 (2020 data not yet available) were in the north-west parts of the Prairie provinces (Figure 1).