Canadian farmers are expected to plant slightly more of both corn and soybeans in 2026.
Nationally, corn area is projected at 3.846 million acres, up 1.7% from last year, while soybean acreage is forecast to rise 1.9% to 5.889 million acres, according to a Statistics Canada acreage report Thursday.
Much of the increase in corn area is expected to come from Ontario, which produces more than 60% of Canada’s crop. Farmers in the province intend to plant 2.316 million acres, up 5.4% from 2025. If realized, that would represent a new record for Ontario corn area, surpassing the previous high set in 2022.
Ontario soybean acreage is also expected to increase slightly, with farmers planning to seed 2.894 million acres, up 0.2% from last year.
In Manitoba, corn acreage is projected to decline modestly, with farmers anticipating 586,800 acres, down 5.3% from 2025, though still above the province’s five-year average. In contrast, Manitoba is expected to see the largest increase in soybean area nationally. Producers plan to seed 1.869 million acres, up 12.9% from last year, which would mark the highest soybean acreage in the province since 2018. The increase may reflect relatively low input costs for soybeans compared with competing crops, StatsCan said.
Meanwhile, Quebec farmers expect to trim both corn and soybean plantings. Corn area in the province is projected to fall 1.5% to 841,500 acres, while soybean acreage is forecast to decline 5% to 1.027 million acres in 2026.
For their part, U.S. farmers are expected to shift acreage toward soybeans in 2026, according to projections released at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum in February. The USDA forecast corn plantings at about 94 million acres, down from the record 98.8 million acres planted in 2025, while soybean acreage is projected to rise to roughly 85 million acres, up from about 81.2 million acres last year.
