MarketsFarm – Crop conditions in Alberta are a story of opposites in looking at the data in the latest provincial crop report. In the northern half of the province excessive moisture has created poor crop conditions, while more ideal conditions in the south have resulted in ratings far above the five-year averages. Due to the latter, overall crop conditions stood almost at 78 per cent good to excellent and close to 17 points above the five-year average.
However, crop conditions in northwest Alberta were the worst at 35 per cent good to excellent and more than 23 points below the five-year average. Barley ranked the lowest at 22 good to excellent while spring wheat was the best of the worst at just under 50 per cent.
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The Peace River region fared better with crops 61 per cent good to excellent, and not quite three points under the five-year average. On one end was barley at 53 per cent good to excellent and spring wheat on the other end at 65 per cent.
The northeast was nearly 80 per cent good to excellent, a little more than five points ahead of the five-year average. Canola was on the low-end of the spectrum at 75 per cent while flax rated at 100 per cent.
With a rating of 88 per cent good to excellent, crop conditions in southern Alberta towered more than 38 points over the five-year average. Mustard came in at 70 per cent, while durum wheat reached 92 per cent.
As for forage crops, tame pasture was at 89 per cent good to excellent with hay at 90. The first cut of dryland hay came in at 1.9 tonnes per acre. It scored 56 per cent good to excellent, which was 16 points below the five-year average. The first cut of irrigated hay rated 78 per cent good to excellent and produced 2.4 tonnes per acre.
The second cut on dryland has yet to begin and that on irrigated land produced 2.1 tonnes per acre.
