Canada’s 2023 corn harvest breaks records

Canada celebrated a historic corn harvest in 2023, especially in Ontario, the heart of the country’s Corn Belt. The final estimates revealed an impressive provincial yield exceeding 171 bushels per acre.

A commodity markets analyst closely linked with the Canadian cattle industry provided valuable insights into this bumper crop.

According to Jerry Klassen, “The bulk of the acreage is in Ontario. We have a little bit in Manitoba and in Quebec, but out of about 14 million tons, 10 of it’s in Ontario. The Ontario corn crop had good conditions throughout the growing season. The crop was pretty good quality. Yields, overall, above the five-year average. That gave us a crop size of about 9.6 million tons, and the five-year average is around 9 million tons.”

Aside from its own domestic usage Canada is a net exporter of corn, primarily into northern Europe livestock markets. Klassen pointed out a potential shift in global corn markets.

“We’re going to see a stronger demand from Europe, for Ontario corn, and I think that will continue probably until June because we have a smaller Brazilian crop coming at us. They’re probably down between 20-25 million tons from last year. So, again, the U.S. has to be the main supplier to the world, here, until June,” he explains.

Looking ahead, Klassen anticipates potential market volatility during the upcoming summer, especially if weather patterns mimic those of the previous year.

Tags: demand, bumper crop, harvest, corn, Canada, yield, Market