Fall price outcome important to determine crop planting varieties

Choosing which crops will be most profitable could involve plenty of calculations and price speculation for farmers this next few weeks.

The 2018 Saskatchewan crop planting guide indicates all of the main crops and specialty crops will provide a return over variable costs.

Six crops — spring wheat, fall rye, oats, feed barley, red lentils and yellow peas — won’t cover land and building investment costs as well.

Among cereals, spring wheat, estimated at $6.99 a bushel, needs another 48 cents increase to break even. Durum, at $6.96, will return almost $41 an acre; winter wheat at $4.59 a bushel, will return $67 an acre; malt barley, $4.68 a bushel, will clear $68 an acre.

Feed wheat, $3.70, will clear $1.90 an acre with feed barley, $3.94, losing $67 an acre. Oats, $2.93 will lose just about $40 an acre.

Canola, priced at $11.36 a bushel, will clear $159 an acre. Flax, $12.50, will clear almost $94 an acre. Yellow mustard, 43 cents a pound, will net $152 an acre with the oriental variety, 42 cents. netting $256. Brown mustard, 37 cents, will clear $165. Sunflowers, 23 cents a pound, will net $101 an acre. Large green lentils, 29 cents, will clear $124 an acre with red lentils, 17 cents, losing $18 an acre. Yellow peas, $7 a bushel, will lose $25 an acre. Green peas, $8 a bushel will net $18 an acre. Soybeans, $11.48 a bushel, will clear $30 an acre while corn, $4.52 a bushel. will net $78 an acre.

Desi chickpeas, 30 cents a pound, will net $152 an acre while small diameter Kabulis, 60 cents. will clear $1,064 an acre.

These calculations are from the guide’s brown soil zone which is a lighter zone than the other two soil zones.

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net