I'm preparing for the upcoming Germination's webinar. I've been digging into the data. Learning more about the tariffs and the impact on the seed industry. These changes will ultimately impact growers, producers, and end consumers
I've found that the behavior shifts caused by tariffs are not theoretical, it's in the data.
Here's one- Canadian crop production area is slightly down this year compared to last. In 2018, 72.03 million acres vs. an estimated 71.33 million acres in 2019.
But some crops are seeing huge swings.
✔Canola acreage is down 6.6% or 1.5 million acres.
✔Lentil acreage is down 9.6% or 363,000 acres.
✔Soybean acreage is down 10.7% or 674,000 acres.
Canola and lentil plantings are down because China imposed canola tariffs & India imposed lentil tariffs. With these markets buying less there are a lot of unsold canola and lentils from last year, keeping prices low. So, farmers plant other things.
Weather is influencing soybean plantings decisions.
Other crops saw increases this year. Instead of planting canola and lentils, farmers are planting more wheat, barley, oats, corn, and dried peas.
After the Germination Retail Webinar next week, I will share a one-page summary of my findings for anyone interested. Comment if you’d liked to receive a copy.