The Saskatchewan harvest may have passed the halfway mark this week, but Alberta hasn’t gotten there yet and quality may suffer as a result.
As of Tuesday, just 48% of all Alberta crops were in the bin – surprisingly ahead of last year when 40% of the crop had been combined at this time – but up only 15 points from two weeks ago and well behind the five- and 10-year averages of 68% and 74%, respectively, according to Friday’s weekly provincial crop report.
Estimates suggest about 25% of the unharvested crops are in the swath, and 27% are still standing.
Compared to the five-year average, the largest harvest delays are reported in the Peace Region (32 points behind average at 34% done), followed by the Central (26 points behind at 37%), North East (25 points behind at 32%), North West (19 points behind at 29%) and the Southern Region (just 4 points behind at 84% complete).
Meanwhile, the report warned that as the harvest drags on, the quality of standing crops is likely to deteriorate due to the prolonged wet and cool conditions. That said, the quality of harvested crops is highly variable across the province, depending on harvest date.
Of the crops harvested so far provincially, about 85% of hard red spring wheat and 83% of durum wheat are grading in the top two grades. About 32% of barley is eligible for malt grade and 51% has graded as No. 1 feed. For oats, about 56% is grading within the top two grades, which is lower than the 5-year average. Almost 91% of harvested canola is graded as No. 1, with another 7% as No. 2. For dry peas, nearly 19% is graded as No. 1, 54% as No. 2, 19% as No. 3 and 8% is in feed grade.
“It is important to note that these initial grading results are based on the volume of harvested crops to this point in time,” the report said. “With more than half of crops still in the fields, and much of it in central and northern regions, there is potential for crop quality to slip as combining activity continues into October.”
Spring wheat in the province was pegged at about 48% harvested as of Tuesday, with durum at 92% and oats and barley at 34% and 60%, respectively. About one-quarter of the canola was off, with peas, lentils and chickpeas all at least 92% complete. About 44% of the flax was in the bin.
Source : Syngenta