CANADA'S WHEAT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 20, 3 November 1933, Page 8

CANADA'S WHEAT

LOWEST CROP IN NINE YEARS,

DROUGHT AND GRASSHOPPERS

"WINNIPEG-, September 15. Canada's wheat acreage this year has given a disappointing yield, after a planting season of unusual promise, and according to an official bulletin'of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics the production will be the lowest in nine years.- Nature has achieved the decrease which the London agreement proposes to secure for the future by voluntary consent." The year's crop for all Canada is estimated at 282,771,000 bushels, of which all but 18,000,000 bushels was raised in the throe, prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and all but 14,000,000 bushels spring wheat.

Last year the crop was 428,514,000 bushels and two years ago 321,000,000 bushels. The high record was made in 1928 when with fewer acres under wheat than this year,, a harvest of 566,726,000 bushels was garnered. In ' fact not since 1924 until this season had the Canadian crop fallen below 300,000,000 bushels. The total in 1924 was 262,097,000, but even then thw yield per acre was better than in tho present year. The average yield nine years ago was 11.9 birshels, this year only 10.9 while in 1928 it reached the unprecedented figure of 23.5 bushels.

. It appears that 'the volume of tho new crop available for export will be considerably below the quota of 200,000,000 bushels fixed by the London agreement. This condition will permit a substantial cut in the carry-over of wheat from previous crop years and which amounts to between 190,000,000 and 200,000,000 bushels.

Some areas in the Western provinces had excellent crops, notably the Peace River section of Northern Alberta. In other parts grasshoppers and other pests completed the work of destruction that lack of rain had begun and farmers had nothing to harvest.