Statistics Canada released its first acreage report for the 2023 growing season this morning.

It says farmers expect to plant more wheat, canola, corn for grain, barley and soybeans in 2023, while area seeded to oats, lentils and dry peas is anticipated to decrease compared with the previous year.

Farmers in Saskatchewan anticipate planting 7.3% more wheat in 2023, totalling 14.2 million acres.

Spring wheat area is expected to expand 10.2% to 9.2 million acres, while durum wheat area is anticipated to increase 2.9% to 5.0 million acres.

Manitoba farmers anticipate planting 3.2 million acres of wheat, up 3.3% from one year earlier.

In Saskatchewan, the province that produces the most canola, producers anticipate seeded area of canola to increase 3.7% to 11.8 million acres.

Farmers in Manitoba anticipate seeding 3.3 million acres of canola, down 0.9% from the previous year.

Manitoba is expected to lead the national increase in soybean acreage.

Soybean area in the province is expected to rise 37.3% to 1.6 million acres, the highest area in the province since 2018.

Farmers in Saskatchewan, where almost 90% of Canada’s lentils are grown, expect seeded area to fall 7.7% to 3.5 million acres