Canadian farmers, almost all of whom are in Saskatchewan, plant about 300,000 acres of canary seeds each year for export as bird seeds. Canadian canary seed production is converted into an export value of about 100 million Canadian dollars each year, accounting for more than 80% of the global canary seed production. The grain can be paid well to the producers. In a good harvest year, canary seeds can provide the highest return of any cereal crop. However, a limited and static market means that crops are prone to oversupply. Therefore, Kevin Hursh, executive director of the Saskatchewan Canary Seed Development Council, is only cautiously encouraging producers interested in experimenting with this crop.
“I tend to think that canary seeds look like a good choice, but there are many good choices. Currently (December 2020) the price is up about $0.31 per pound. However, unless someone is there to offer a new one at a high price Crop contract, otherwise there is no guarantee that the price received next year (2021) will remain at today’s level. Worryingly, canary seed is a small crop. An extra 50,000 or 100,000 acres will be a piece Big thing. If a large group of people jump into the canary seed, the price will collapse.”
One of the biggest challenges of canary seeds is the lack of good information. How many acres are planted exactly each year? Hursh was not sure. Statistics Canada’s planted area figures are rough estimates. How many products can be put on the market in a given year? That is also a wildcard. In the past few years, farmers have stored canary seeds for a long period of time in order to occupy the high point of the market.
“In the past 10 to 15 years, prices have not risen as much as we have seen before. We believe that the price of $0.30 per pound has pushed long-term storage of canary seeds out of the storage market because the market behaves like Usability is much tighter than in the past. But to be honest, we just don’t know,” Hersh said.
Most of the land is planted with exotic varieties, including Kit and Kanter. Hairless (hairless) varieties (CDC Maria, CDC Togo, CDC Bastia, and more recently CDC Calvi and CDC Cibo) make production more comfortable, but have lower yields than the itchy varieties. CDC Cibo is the first registered yellow seed variety, which may make it more popular in human food. CDC Lumio is a new hairless variety that will be sold in limited quantities in 2021. It is a high-yielder and is beginning to bridge the yield gap between hairless and itchy varieties.
Canary seeds are easy to grow and have a wide range of adaptations. Compared with most other grains, this is a lower input crop. Although potash is recommended, the crop requires relatively low nitrogen. Canary seeds can be a good choice on acres where wheat mids are prone to occur.
It is not recommended to use cereals on wheat stubble because the seeds are so similar in size that it is difficult for flax volunteers to separate them easily. (Hursh said that quinclorac (registered as Facet by BASF and Clever in the Farmers Business Network) has been registered for canary seed and can effectively control flax volunteers, but the field cannot be replanted into lentils next season.
Since there is no control method for wild oats after emergence, producers should use Avadex in granular form in autumn or in granular or liquid form in spring.
“After someone planted the seeds, someone asked me to ask how to control wild oats. They couldn’t do it then,” Hersh said.
“Canary seeds can be kept until the last season of harvest because the seeds are not damaged by the weather and will not break. Growing canary seeds can extend the harvest window and reduce harvest pressure,” Hursh said.
The Canary Seed Development Committee in Saskatchewan is currently working to incorporate Canary Seeds into the Canadian Grain Act (probably in August). Although this will impose a rating scale, Hursh guarantees that these restrictions will be very small and will not affect most farmers. Importantly, compliance with the Corn Law will provide producers with payment protection.
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