The Financial Post reports in its Monday, May 1, edition that Canadian farmers intend to plant the most wheat in 22 years, a government report said last week. A Reuters dispatch to the Post reports that winter wheat ratings in the United States, the world's fifth-largest exporter, are the lowest since 1989 due to drought. Statistics Canada forecast all-wheat plantings at 27 million acres, up 6 per cent from last year and exceeding the average industry expectation of 26.3 million. That would be the biggest wheat area since 2001. "There's a fundamental reason for putting wheat in the ground," said Brian Voth, president of Intellifarm, noting the tight global wheat stockpiles. "It got kick-started last year with the Russian invasion." Canada is the world's fourth-largest wheat exporter and the biggest shipper of canola. Spring wheat plantings, the biggest portion of Canada's all-wheat production, are seen reaching 19.4 million acres, also the most since 2001 and up 7.5 per cent from last year, the report showed. There are doubts, however, about the accuracy of the Statcan report because its farmer survey was conducted from Dec. 12 to Jan. 14, about two months earlier than usual, Mr. Voth said.