2020 was a different looking year for everyone, especially in the Ag industry. In this week’s edition of Growing Possibilities, we are ringing in the New Year by looking back at some positive things from 2020 and stuff to look forward to in 2021.
The 2020 growing season was a successful one for most growers, and growers seem to be confident going into the 2021 cropping season. For their annual CropLife 100 survey, CropLife asked growers to rate their confidence going into the 2021 growing season on a scale of one to ten. 68% of growers expressed their confidence in the 7-10 range on this scale, which is very positive outlook (1). Production of most row crops increased from 2019 to 2020. Barley production increased from 10.3 to 10.7 million tonnes in Canada in 2020. Corn and Wheat production followed the same trend in Canada, with production of these crops increasing by 160,000 tonnes and 2.5 million tonnes, respectively. Canadian oat production increased from 4.2 to 4.6 million tonnes from 2019 to 2020 (2). Canadian Pacific railway reported a record year for grain transportation, moving 31.32 million tonnes of grain in 2020, beating the old record by 5% (3). On the legume side, production is also on the rise. 2.9 million tonnes of lentils were produced in Canada in 2020, an increase of 500,000 tonnes from 2019. Soybean production was close behind, increasing production by 200,000 tonnes in the previous year (2). In the United States, several crops saw increases in production in 2020 when compared to 2019. Corn production rose 6.7%, lentil production went up by 22%, soybean production rose by 17%, and Sugarbeet production increased by 17% (4).
Acreages were mostly on the rise for many major row crops in 2020 but there were some decline in acres both in USA (like wheat, barley, peas, canola) & Canada (like canola) from 2019, but forecasts for both USA & Canada show in general these acres should increase or stay steady in 2021 (Table 1)
The COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, which means our favorite way of meeting new customers and interacting with old ones (via farm/ag-industry trade shows) are still out of the question for now. Hopefully by Fall of 2021 we can see you all in-person again, but in the meantime look forward to interacting with you digitally through virtual presentations or webinars or cyber coffee sessions with our sales crews in the coming months! Please contact your local XiteBio reps to see if there is anything they can do to help ease your planning for the upcoming cropping needs.
This year, be on the lookout for our new rhizobial inoculant/PGPR biological combo product, XiteBio® OptiPlus® for Soybeans, limited launching just in time for the 2021 growing season. All of XiteBio’s innovative technologies are now approved for organic use, allowing organic growers also to harness the power of Mother Nature’s soil nutrients that they unlock. Contact your local XiteBio reps or visit xitebio.ca to find out more about any of our products and technologies.
References
- https://www.croplife.com/editorial/eric_sfiligoj/3-predictions-for-2021-and-how-theyll-impact-agriculture/
- https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3210035901&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2019&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2020&referencePeriods=20190101%2C20200101
- https://www.realagriculture.com/2021/01/cp-rail-reports-record-amount-of-grain-moved-for-2020/
- https://www.usda.gov/topics/farming/crop-production
- https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/outlooks/95912/oce-2020-1.pdf?v=3739.3,
- https://agr.gc.ca/eng/crops/reports-and-statistics-data-for-canadian-principal-field-crops/canada-outlook-for-principal-field-crops-2020-12-18/?id=1608598994440