Each year at the Crop Production Show, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture releases a number of pest maps as well as updated resource materials.
One of the publications is the Crop Planning Guide which estimates the costs and returns for various cropping options.
The guide is based on the inputs needed to grow high yielding crops with the yield target being the 80th percentile of the five-year average in each soil zone. The guide also shows the return if you use high inputs and only grow an average crop. In that scenario, no crop shows a profit in 2026.
At the high yield, flax is one of the most positive outlooks. It just covers total costs in the brown soil zone, generates a return of about $25 an acre in the dark brown soil zone, with a return over total expenses of about $86 an acre in the black soil zone. That assumes a 33 bushel per acre flax crop at $16.50 a bushel.
Canola in the black soil zone with a 50 bushel per acre yield and an assumed price of $13.20 a bushel has a return over total expenses of about $36 an acre. Oats in the black soil zone at 130 bushels an acre yield and a price of $3.79 a bushel is at a breakeven level given the expense assumptions.
Chickpeas and large green lentils show some profit potential, but the price assumptions are higher than current market prices. Green peas and red lentils in the black soil zone also show a small positive return.
Other crops show a lot of red ink including yellow peas, feed barley, malt barley, spring wheat, durum wheat, soybeans and Canary seed.
The 2026 Crop Planning Guide and a Crop Planner so you can input your own numbers is available on the Saskatchewan.ca website.
