By the time the calendar turns to July, Alberta farmers usually have a pretty good sense of what kind of crop they’re growing.
This year, the answer depends largely on where you farm.
The latest Alberta Crop Report shows much of the province heading into July with excellent yield potential thanks to abundant soil moisture. Provincial crop conditions remain well above long-term averages, and hay and pasture are responding to the moisture.
But there is another side to the story.
Frequent rainfall, saturated fields and limited spraying opportunities are creating mounting concerns over disease pressure, weed control and delayed crop development in several regions. While moisture has largely replaced drought as the dominant concern, too much water is becoming its own production challenge.
Moisture Is No Longer the Limiting Factor
Across much of Alberta, crops have access to plenty of water heading into one of the most important months of the growing season.
Surface and sub-surface moisture reserves remain well above historical averages in many regions, giving cereals, canola and pulse crops an excellent foundation should hotter weather arrive in July. That reserve could prove valuable if temperatures climb during flowering and grain fill.
For producers who spent the past several seasons worrying about drought stress, this represents a welcome change.
Click here to see more...