A week of mostly dry weather allowed the Alberta harvest to progress to near the halfway mark, with fieldwork in the South and Peace regions running well ahead of normal.
The weekly crop report Friday pegged the harvest of major crops (spring wheat, oats, barley, canola, and peas) at 44% complete as of Tuesday, up 14 points from a week earlier, and ahead of the five- and 10-year averages of 39% and 36%, respectively.
In the South Region, where conditions have been dry for most of the growing and harvest seasons, just over 80% of the major crops were in the bin as of Tuesday, up about 9 points on the week and 16 points ahead of the five-year average. With little rain the past week, the Peace harvest advanced 20 points to 44% done, versus only 24% for the five-year average.
The Central Region harvest gained 12 points on the week to reach 41% complete as of Tuesday, slightly ahead of 40% on average. The North East and North West harvests gained 15 and 13 points from a week earlier to 24% done each, versus 30% and 24% on average.
The provincial dry pea harvest was 95% complete as of Tuesday, followed by barley at 63% done, spring wheat at 53%, oats at 30%, and canola at 19%.
Precipitation was limited over the last week, ranging from 0 to 15 mm across the province and small areas in the North West and Central receiving between 15 and 25 mm. While the dry weather has helped harvest progress over the last month, more moisture is needed to assist fall seeded crops, the report said.
Region One: South (Strathmore, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Foremost)
• Small showers with cool weather slowed harvest early in the week, followed by hot weather, which allowed harvesting to progress by 9 per cent since last week, making it 80 per cent complete and 16 per cent ahead of the 5-year average.
• There were reports of some crop acres abandoned due to poor yields, and cattle being turned out on harvested fields due to poor pasture conditions.
• Hot weather slowed potato harvest since tubers cannot be too hot when placed in storage.
• Farmers in the South Region are deciding if there is enough moisture to seed fall crops. Currently, 6 per cent of both surface and sub-surface soil moisture is rated in good to excellent condition, down 3 and 2 per cent from last week, respectively.
• Pasture growth conditions (tame hay in brackets) are rated as 67 (69) per cent poor, 28 (28) per cent fair, 5 (4) per cent good and 0 (0) per cent excellent.
Region Two: Central (Rimbey, Airdrie, Coronation, Oyen)
• Harvest progressed 12 per cent since last week to 41 per cent complete, on par with the 5-year average.
• More desiccating has been necessary this year to manage green second growth. While swathing has also increased due to green plants, farmers are cautious about cutting too much with the ongoing risk of showers. Green second growth could create an issue for grading.
• The west side of the region reported having fair moisture, while the east side is quite dry. There were also reports of frost in low lying areas.
• Surface soil rated good to excellent, increasing 1 per cent since the last report and now at 25 per cent. Sub-surface soil moisture rated good to excellent, decreasing 2 per cent and now rated at 27 per cent.
• Farmers are waiting for some hay crops to dry to finish haying. Pasture growth conditions (tame hay in brackets) are rated as 38 (32) per cent poor, 36 (40) per cent fair, 26 (28) per cent good and 0 (0) per cent excellent.
Region Three: North East (Smoky Lake, Vermilion, Camrose, Provost)
• There were some showers in the middle of the week, but combining was in full gear by the weekend. Harvest in the North East Region progressed 15 per cent since last week and is now 24 per cent complete, 5 per cent behind the 5-year average.
• There is still some standing water or saturated soil, but surface soil moisture is rated good to excellent. It decreased 7 per cent since last week and is now at 64 per cent. Sub-surface soil moisture decreased 1 per cent and is now at 51 per cent.
• Second cut hay conditions improved since first cut due to late season rainfall.
• Frost has affected some corn crops for grazing. Pasture growth conditions (tame hay in brackets) are rated as 19 (20) per cent poor, 46 (49) per cent fair, 35 (31) per cent good and 0 (1) per cent excellent.
Region Four: North West (Barrhead, Edmonton, Leduc, Drayton Valley, Athabasca)
• Harvest is progressing well as many cereals are ripe and being straight cut, as is canola. Harvest progressed 12 per cent since last week to 24 per cent complete, on par with the 5-year average.
• There are still many areas of standing water or saturated soil with the wet and dewy conditions in the early morning, which is also making it difficult to get equipment into some fields. Currently, surface soil moisture conditions are rated good to excellent, decreasing 4 per cent to 69 per cent. Within the region, excessive surface soil moisture is rated at 17 per cent. Sub-surface soil moisture is rated good to excellent, decreasing 1 per cent to 75 per cent.
• Pasture growth conditions (tame hay in brackets) are rated as 22 (22) per cent poor, 50 (39) per cent fair, 28 (38) per cent good and 0 (1) per cent excellent.
Region Five: Peace (Fairview, Falher, Grande Prairie, Valleyview)
• Great weather all week allowed significant progress in harvesting, at 21 per cent since last week with 44 per cent of crops in the bin.
• The dry pea harvest has progressed the most, with less than 15 per cent left to combine. By comparison, only 17 per cent of canola has been combined in the Peace Region.
• Very small areas in the southern part of the region received up to 10 mm of precipitation, while most of the region received less than 1 mm. Surface and sub-surface soil conditions rated good to excellent, decreasing 1 and 3 per cent, respectively. Currently, 70 per cent of both surface and sub-surface soil moisture is rated good to excellent.
• Pasture growth conditions (tame hay in brackets) are rated as 16 (16) per cent poor, 34 (34) per cent fair, 43 (43) per cent good and 7 (7) per cent excellent.
