Very little harvesting has taken place yet across Alberta, despite warmer weather helping crops move closer to maturity over the past week.
The latest weekly crop report on Friday showed just 1% of the province’s major crops had been combined as of Tuesday, behind the five- and 10-year averages of 7% and 5%. Harvest was furthest advanced in the South at 5% complete, compared with the five- and 10-year averages of 18% and 15%, respectively. Activity was negligible elsewhere, with the Central, North East, North West and Peace regions all at or near zero.
Dry peas were the most advanced crop at 9% harvested provincially, including 20% in the South. Barley was 2% complete, spring wheat less than 1%, and canola had yet to register any meaningful harvest progress.
Crop conditions, meanwhile, were virtually unchanged from the previous week. Major crops were rated 59% good to excellent as of Tuesday, comfortably above the five-year average of 41% and the 10-year average of 53%.
Regional conditions continued to show a pronounced north-south divide. Crop conditions in the South improved slightly from a week earlier to about 79% good to excellent, while the Central Region was essentially steady at 70%.
Conditions in the North East slipped slightly to 47%, while the North West deteriorated a couple of points to about 35%, leaving it the weakest-rated region in the province. The Peace Region crops were rated about 49% good to excellent, little changed.
Excess moisture remains the main factor weighing on crop ratings in northern Alberta.
Recent showers sharply improved surface soil moisture in southern and central areas. Good-to-excellent surface moisture increased 17 percentage points to 50% in the South and 14 points to 52% in the Central Region. Provincewide, 40% of surface soil moisture was rated good and another 15% excellent, although 9% was still considered excessive.
In northern Alberta, lighter rainfall allowed some fields to dry and helped crops advance toward harvest readiness.
The full Alberta crop report can be seen here:
https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/9af5b54d-f334-46ca-a0b1-23e560edb353/resource/ed01f618-c537-4126-80e7-1384fc9f5ce5/download/agi-tedab-alberta-crop-report-2026-08-18-abbreviated-report.pdf
