There were solid gains in Alberta planting progress this past week, even as wildfires reportedly affected some crop and pasturelands in parts of the province.
Friday’s weekly crop report showed an estimated 55% of all Alberta crops seeded as of Tuesday, only 3 and 5 points behind the five- and 10-year averages. The seeding of major crops in the province (spring wheat, durum, oats, barley, canola and peas) advanced 31 points from a week earlier, as hot and dry weather - with the occasional light shower - continued to provide relatively good conditions for planting, the report said.
Survey responses from the North West, North East and Peace regions indicated wildfire activity, with the report noting that the fires, evacuations, and road closures could impact seeding progress over the next week.
Regionally, seeding progress is ahead of the five-year average in the North West and the Peace regions but below average in the South and Central regions. Progress is on par with the average in the North East. Among regions, the North East reported the most planting progress over the past week, jumping 36 points. That was followed by the Central, South, North West, and Peace Region with week-over-week gains of 30, 29, 29, and 28 points, respectively.
Crop emergence was at 15% as of Tuesday, 3 points ahead of average. However, “adequate and timely rains are still needed to ensure plant growth for crops, as well as for tame hay and pasture.”
Among the major crops, dry peas were 80% planted in the province as of Tuesday, followed by spring wheat at 70%, durum at 59%, barley at 54%, canola at 39%, and oats at 35%.
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