Aside from peas, Canadian producers intend to cut back on plantings of most other pulse and special crops in 2025, including lentils.
According to a Statistics Canada acreage report on Wednesday, producers will plant 3.516 million acres of dry peas this spring, up 9.5% from a year earlier and the most since 2021 at 3.854 million. On the other hand, lentil planted area was pegged at 4.174 million acres, down a modest 0.8% from 2024 but still up from 3.668 million in 2023.
Mustard is expected to see the sharpest year-over-year fall, with 2025 planted area estimated down 52.3% to 289,000 acres – the lowest since 2020 at 256,400.
Flax area is forecast to decline further, with 2025 acres estimated at 448,000, down 11% on the year and the lowest since 1949 when only 312,000 acres went into the ground.
At 231,700 acres, estimated new-crop canary area is projected down 20.4% on the year and the lowest since 2013 at 210,000.
Chickpea intentions are reported down 5.7% on the year to 453,000 acres, although that remains up from 315,500 in 2023.
Intended sunflower acres, at 58,500, are down 2.5% from last year and lowest since 35,000 in 20211, while national dry bean acres, at 357,200, are expected to fall 11.2% on the year but remain up from 318,300 in 2023.
Today’s StatsCan report is based on a survey of 8,200 Canadian farmers between Dec. 13 and Jan. 27 – long before US President Donald Trump moved to levy a 25% tariff on American imports of most Canadian goods, including grains and grain products. That threat has been paused until April 2 but lurks in the background as the planting season draws nearer.
Canada exports over $17 billion worth of grain and grain products to the US each year — a market increasingly threatened by shifting trade policies.
