Warm, dry weather kept combines rolling across Alberta this week, pushing harvest to 77 per cent complete — a jump of 18 points from last week and well ahead of the five- and ten-year averages of 68 and 54 per cent.
Southern Farms Lead the Pack
The South remains furthest ahead at 84 per cent complete, followed closely by the North West (80 per cent), Peace (78 per cent), North East (77 per cent) and Central (72 per cent). While progress has been strong province-wide, most producers are now hoping for a good soaking before freeze-up to rebuild depleted soil-moisture reserves.
What’s in the Bin
Most early crops — winter wheat, fall rye, lentils and peas — are wrapped up. Durum is 92 per cent finished, spring wheat 89 per cent, barley 87 per cent and oats 82 per cent. Chickpeas are 71 per cent off, while mustard leads the oilseed group at 85 per cent. Canola sits just over halfway done at 56 per cent, and flax remains well behind average at 35 per cent.
Crop Quality Snapshot
Overall grade outlooks remain encouraging. Hard red spring wheat is grading 78 per cent No. 1 CW (vs. a five-year average of 58 per cent), while canola has an impressive 93 per cent No. 1 Canada. Barley and durum are holding close to long-term norms, but oat quality has slipped with more No. 3 CW samples than usual.
Yields Trending Higher
Dryland yields continue to tick upward. Provincial averages have climbed +0.7 bu./ac. for wheat, +2.6 for barley, +0.9 for oats and +0.8 for canola. Only peas slipped slightly (-0.6). That puts Alberta’s overall yield index 25 per cent above the five-year average and 17 per cent above the ten-year average — a healthy improvement over last report.
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