World Agricultural Production Canada Rapeseed: Area Down from Late Planting and Floods

USDA estimates 2014/15 Canada rapeseed production at 15.25 million tons, down 2.9 percentfrom last month and down 15 percent from last year's record level. Harvested area is estimated at7.7 million hectares, down 3.9 percent from last year and down 3.8 percent from last month. Thereduction in estimated area is due to unseeded acreage and late June flooding that impactedsoutheast Saskatchewan and southwest Manitoba. Yield is forecast at 1.98 tons per hectare, down12 percent from last year's record but up 0.9 percent from last month.Rapeseed development in the Western Prairies is still behind normal because of wet and coolweather conditions coupled with late planting. However, warmer temperatures in late July andsufficient precipitation have advanced crop maturation. The majority of the crop is setting pods. Analysis of satellite-derived vegetation indices show that crop development across most of the western prairies is slightly above the 5-year average. However, crop vigor in southeastSaskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba, which account for approximately 5 percent of totalrapeseed production, is likely to be slightly below the short-term mean. Recent provincial reportsfrom the major producers, Saskatchewan and Alberta, have rated the rapeseed crop as 70 percent good to excellent.