Alberta Harvest More than 90% Finished

More than 90% of this year’s Alberta crop is now in the bin, the fastest harvest pace for the province since 2012.

 

Friday’s regular weekly crop report pegged the harvest of all crops at 90.2% complete as of Tuesday, 29 points ahead of the five-year average and 20 points ahead of the 10-year average – spurred on by little rain and warm temperatures. In fact, the report said it is the quickest harvest since 2012 when 96% of the crop was combined at this time of year.

 

The harvest in the South region was most advanced at about 97% complete as of Tuesday, more than 10 points ahead of the regional five-year average. The Central and North East regions were at 90% and 91% done, versus 57% and 49% on average, while the North East and Peace were79% and 83% complete, compared to 39% and 56% on average.

 

The spring wheat, durum and barley harvests were all at least 94% done on a provincial basis, while oats and canola were 84% and 85% combined. Flax was 78% complete and chickpeas 92%.

 

Provincial yields are estimated at 9% above both the five- and 10-year averages, although there are some reports, particularly in the North West Region, of yield loss in the swath due to shelling out. Also, for some flooded acres or late seeded crops, heads have not been filled as expected, the report said.

 

On average for the province, grades on the harvested portion of major crops are rated at high quality, while regional grading is variable across the province. Crop quality in the North West Region as well as in some areas of the North East and Peace Regions has been impacted by the wet spring and summer.

 

Provincially, about 92% of hard red spring wheat and 96% of durum wheat are graded in the top two grades. About 43% of barley is eligible for malt and 50% graded as No. 1 feed. For oats, about 62% is graded in the top two grades. Almost 89% of canola is graded as No. 1, with another 9% as No. 2. For dry peas, about 29% is graded as No. 1, 52% as No. 2, 16% as No. 3 and 3% as feed.

 

 

· Favorable weather contributed to wrapping up the harvest for most crops. Over the past week, producers combined an additional seven per cent of their major crops. About 97 per cent of crops are now in the bin, one per cent is swathed and another two per cent is still standing. About two per cent of canola is in swath and three per cent standing. Harvest operations for sugar beets was paused last week, due to the warm temperatures.

 

· Crop quality for all crops is above their regional 5-year (2015-2019) averages. About 95 per cent of hard red spring wheat, 98 per cent of durum wheat and all oats are graded in the top two grades. About 67 per cent of barley is eligible for malt and 30 per cent graded as No. 1 feed. Nearly 88 per cent of canola is graded as No. 1 and 12 per cent as No. 2. For dry peas, 46 per cent are graded as No. 1, with 51 per cent as No. 2 and three per cent as No. 3.

 

· Fall seeded crops are rated as 1 per cent poor, 29 per cent fair, 55 per cent good and 15 per cent excellent.

 

 

· Producers continued harvest operations over the past week until the rain on Sunday put harvest to a halt in some areas. Since last week, producers were able to combine an additional 19 per cent of their major crops. Overall, about 90 per cent of all crops are combined, with five per cent swathed and another five per cent still standing. About eight per cent of canola is in swath and six per cent standing.

 

· For all crops, quality is above their regional averages. About 95 per cent of hard red spring wheat, all durum wheat and 94 per cent of oats are graded in the top two grades. Almost 50 per cent of barley is eligible for malt and 41 percent graded as No. 1 feed. For canola, 88 per cent is graded as No. 1, and six per cent as No. 2. About 52 per cent of dry peas is graded as No. 1, 40 per cent as No. 2, seven per cent as No. 3 and one per cent as feed.

 

· Fall seeded crops are rated as 2 per cent poor, 12 per cent fair, 84 per cent good and 2 per cent excellent.

 

 

· Compared to the large amount of rain over the summer and excessive soil moisture in parts of this region, producers have had a good fall harvest. Over the past week, they were able to advance the harvest by an additional 25 per cent. Overall, 91 per cent of all crops are now in the bin, five per cent are in swath and four per cent remain standing. About eight per cent of canola is in swath and five per cent standing.

 

· Crops in flooded acres are coming off with lower yield and quality. Quality for dry peas is low in the region, with no crops graded as No. 1, 63 per cent graded as No. 2 and 37 per cent as No. 3 or feed. About 87 per cent of hard red spring wheat is graded in the top two grades, which is slightly above the regional average. About 16 per cent of barley is eligible for malt and 76 per cent graded as No. 1 feed, which is on par with the average. Quality for oats and canola are above average. Nearly 67 per cent of oats are in the top two grades and 96 per cent of canola is graded as No. 1, with another three per cent as No. 2.

 

· Fall seeded crops are rated as 14 per cent fair and 86 per cent good.

 

 

· Favourable weather conditions contributed to substantial harvest progress over the past couple of weeks, but there are still some acres to be harvested. Producers were able to advance harvest progress by 27 per cent for major crops from a week ago. Overall, about 79 per cent of crops are in the bin, 10 per cent are in swath and 11 per cent remain standing. About 20 per cent of canola is in swath and seven per cent standing. Still, about 16 per cent of spring wheat, 12 per cent of barley and 24 per cent of oats remain standing.

 

· Crop quality for oats, dry peas and hard red spring No. 1 is below their regional averages. About 98 per cent of oats is graded as No. 3, with two per cent in the top two grades. Only 16 per cent of dry peas is graded as No. 1 and 17 per cent as No. 2, while about 67 per cent graded as No. 3. About 10 per cent of barley is eligible for malt and 86 per cent graded as No. 1 feed. Quality for hard red spring is graded as 30 per cent No. 1, with 62 per cent No. 2.

 

· Fall seeded crops are rated as 28 per cent fair and 72 per cent good.

 

 

· Ideal harvest weather contributed to quick progress in the region and producers were able to combine an additional 40 per cent of their crops over the last week. Overall, about 83 per cent of crops are in the bin, eight per cent are in swath and nine per cent are standing. About 14 per cent of canola is in swath and seven per cent standing. Still, 15 per cent of spring wheat, 13 per cent of barley, 14 per cent of oats and four per cent of dry peas remain standing.

 

· Crop quality for the top two grades of oats and hard red spring and malt barley is above average. About 87 per cent of spring wheat is graded as No. 2 or better, with 50 per cent graded as No. 1. Nearly 30 per cent of barley is eligible for malt and 54 per cent graded as No. 1 feed. For oats, 86 per cent is graded in the top two grades. About 97 per cent of canola is graded in the top two grades, with 76 per cent graded as No. 1. Quality for dry peas is graded as eight per cent No. 1, 71 per cent as No. 2, 16 per cent as No. 3 and six per cent as feed.