Winter wheat may be the fastest growing crop in Maritime Canada.
Over the past five years, the cereal crop has seen significant growth with total acreage on Prince Edward Island alone climbing near 25,000 acres. On this episode of RealAgriculture Wheat School, host Bernard Tobin travels to the Island to find out what’s driving interest in the crop, and why the fall-seeded cereal is catching the eye of growers throughout the Maritimes.
To get the scoop, Tobin talks with Eric Richter, Syngenta Canada’s PEI and Nova Scotia agronomist and sales rep who migrated to the Island from Ontario back in 2018. When Richter moved to the province, there was some interest in the crop but growers were struggling with winter survival issues and yields languished in the 1.5 to 1.8 metric tonne per range.
Fast forward to 2024, and yields have increased by 30 per cent or 1 metric tonne. Today, yields typically reach 85 bu/ac for many growers with some hitting the 90-bushel mark. “And there are a few that are above that,” adds Richter.
In the video, Tobin and Richter discuss a host of factors that have helped propel the crop, including the establishment of Canada’s first yield enhancement network (YEN), which was launched by PEI grain farmers in 2019. Richter says wheat growers have benefitted greatly from peer-to-peer shared learning, which has helped them “believe in the crop and see what’s possible.”
Richter says a host of ag researchers, extension specialists and ag retailers have all played a role in winter wheat’s success. Growers have also taken advantage of an expanding management tool box, which includes new and improved fungicides, plant growth regulators and nutrient management strategies to better feed the crop and drive yield and quality.
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