How did this crop year shape up compared with previous harvests?

Outside of winter wheat growing beneath the snow, not much is happening on Canadian crop farms at this time of the year, providing farmers with some much-needed time to reflect on last year’s harvest and start planning for the crop ahead. How exactly did last year’s harvest shape up? Let’s take a look.

Third-largest wheat crop this century

Total wheat production rose 6.1% year over year to 35.0 million tonnes in 2024, making it the third-largest wheat crop this century. It was 7.0% below the record high of 37.6 million tonnes set in 2013, perhaps the greatest crop year in Canadian crop farming history.

What was once considered a remarkable year of record production a decade ago is fast becoming commonplace, with production topping 34 million tonnes three times in the past five years, peaking at 35.4 million tonnes in 2020.

The nadir of wheat production this century occurred in 2002, when just under 16.0 million metric tonnes were produced. The most recent low was in 2021 (22.4 million tonnes); like 2002, that year was marked by drought on the Prairies.

While production numbers are scrutinized by traders, the prized number for farmers is yield, that is, how much crop they were able to extract from their land using modern agricultural techniques.

Ontario farmers reported the highest wheat yields nationally, at 6 180 kilograms per hectare in 2024, thanks mostly to winter wheat.

Nova Scotia farmers reported the highest yields in the Maritimes (4 680 kg/ha) in 2024, while Manitoba led the Prairies (4 223 kg/ha). Wheat farmers in British Columbia once again reported the lowest yields nationally, at 2 909 kilograms per hectare.

Best durum wheat crop in over a decade

Durum wheat farmers reported their fifth-largest harvest since the beginning of the millennium, at 5.9 million tonnes in 2024, up 43.6% from one year earlier but 24.4% below the record high set in 2016.

Durum wheat is grown exclusively on the Prairies. Manitoba is projected to claim top spot in yield, at 3 646 kilograms per hectare in 2024, over 1 000 kilograms more per hectare than their neighbour to the west, Saskatchewan.

Challenging year for canola farmers

Canola production decreased 7.0% nationally to 17.8 million tonnes in 2024, driven by lower yields, likely the result of hot and dry conditions in parts of Western Canada in July and August.

While the canola harvest in 2024 was 16.8% lower than the record high 21.5 million metric tonnes produced in 2017, it is over double what was harvested annually during the first five years of the millennium.

Canola was grown in seven provinces in 2024, from New Brunswick straight across the country to British Columbia.

Yields were down in all three Prairie provinces, with Manitoba farmers reporting the largest decline, falling from 2 482 kilograms per hectare one year earlier to 2 079 kilograms in 2024.

Quebec corn for grain farmers have their best harvest since 2018

Corn for grain production edged down 0.5% from the record harvest one year earlier to 15.3 million tonnes in 2024. Nevertheless, this was over double what was harvested in 2000 (7 million tonnes), the lowest corn for grain harvest this century.

Corn for grain farmers in Quebec reported their best harvest since 2018 in 2024, while farmers in Ontario and Manitoba reported a smaller corn for grain harvest from one year earlier.

Corn for grain is grown in every province except Newfoundland and Labrador.

Farmers in Ontario (11 298 kg/ha) and Quebec (10 176 kg/ha) reported the highest corn for grain yields per hectare in 2024, while those in Saskatchewan reported the lowest (5 565 kg/ha).

Best year for soybeans since 2018

Soybean farmers reported their second-best harvest on record, with production up 8.4% year over year to 7.6 million tonnes in 2024, just below the record high 7.7 million tonnes set in 2017 but 180.0% higher compared with 2000.

Soybeans were grown in seven provinces in 2024, with Ontario accounting for over half of national production.

Farmers in Nova Scotia (3 552 kg/ha), Prince Edward Island (3 511 kg/ha) and Ontario (3 486 kg/ha) reported the highest yields. The lowest yields were in Saskatchewan (1 699 kg/ha).

Barley production declines for the second straight year

Barley production declined for the second straight year, falling 8.6% year over year to 8.1 million tonnes in 2024, and it was 38.4% below the highest level this millennium, which was set in 2000.

Over half of the barley harvest in Canada in 2024 came from fields in Alberta, where production declined from 4.7 million metric tonnes in 2023 to 4.2 million metric tonnes. Barley production was down across Western Canada but up in Central Canada.

Farmers in Manitoba reported the highest barley yields (4 212 kg/ha) in 2024, and British Columbia the lowest (2 944 kg/ha).

Farmer crop seeding intentions for 2025 will be released in March.