Production and distribution of cereal straw on the canadian prairies

Abstract

and Manitoba produce collectively more than 37 Mt of wheat, barley, oat, and flax grain annually. A portion of the available straw must remain on the field to prevent soil erosion and to maintain soil health and fertility. Straw in excess of this amount can be removed in a sustainable manner for other economic purposes, depending upon the cost of its collection and delivery. An estimate of the straw available was derived by extracting data on land area, yield, and total grain production for wheat, barley, oats, and flax over a period of 10 years (1994-2003) from the Canadian Agricultural Statistics and provincial crop production data bases. The yield and grain production were converted to equivalent straw by using an average straw to grain mass ratio developed for the Canadian prairies. The straw yield was reduced to account for straw that must be left on the soil for wind and water erosion. Livestock demand on straw for feeding and bedding was also