Despite goals to increase, Manitoba Flax Growers Association says flax acreage in the province has dropped a bit this year.

Flax Growers chair Eric Fridfinnson says from talking with seed dealers, acreage could be down about 10 or 20 per cent.

"Stats Canada was estimating about 80,000 acres in Manitoba, and we had certainly been hoping to see it over a 100,000, so it's a bit of a disappointment for us," he says, "but we really don't know (exact numbers) until the information comes in from MASC (Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation) once the seeded acreage reports are in."

Fridfinnson thinks slow flax markets over the winter may have caused this decrease, although he's still surprised by the acreage drop, as flax prices were fairly steady over the fall and winter.

"There was good demand and good movement early in the fall, but through the winter it was a bit a slower," Fridfinnson says. "The price held up pretty well, and we were generally running at 20 per cent or even higher premiums to canola, so usually that's enough to attract acres."

On a positive note, for the flax crops that were sown in Manitoba, Fridfinnson says they appear to be growing well, standing up strongly in all the recent moisture. According to Fridfinnson, most flax crops are around the three to five inches in height, with a few beginning to bloom.