Cold weather, snowfall, slow harvest progress further

Alberta crop conditions as of October 2, 2018

Reading Time: 2 minutes The month of September has been exceptionally cold across the province and, for many areas, unusually wet. Although cool damp weather conditions have halted harvest operations in many areas, this has led to normal precipitation accumulations for most areas of the province. Adding to this was the large snowfall event in the southern and western […] Read more

(BC.RCMP-grc.gc.ca)

AgriRecovery offered for B.C. wildfire costs

British Columbia ranchers and farmers who lost pasture or cropland or had to move livestock out of the path of wildfires this year may be eligible for AgriRecovery funding. The federal and B.C. governments on Thursday announced a new AgriRecovery program worth up to $5 million to help defray “extraordinary costs incurred” due to wildfires […] Read more


It was the second, heavier September snowstorm that flattened big chunks of his wheat fields, said Jason Lenz.

It was more Standstill than September for many

Many weren’t able to ‘turn a wheel’ during what should be the golden days of autumn

Reading Time: 4 minutes It was a September that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. “Harvest is at a standstill and it’s been that way for about three weeks now,” Alberta Wheat chair Kevin Bender said as the month came to a close. “For the most part, guys haven’t been able to turn a wheel yet.” Bender, […] Read more

(PortMetroVancouver.com)

Grain vessel lineup rising at Vancouver

CNS Canada — The lineup of grain vessels waiting for loading at Vancouver increased to 21 for Week 8 of the grain shipping season. Reports by Quorum Corp., which monitors Prairie grain handling, stated vessels at Vancouver were up 31 per cent from the previous week (17). The increase in ships raised sentiments that grain […] Read more



Rain, hail, sleet, snow chill harvest progress

Alberta crop conditions as of September 25, 2018

Reading Time: < 1 minute The wet cold front experienced over the last couple of weeks seems to have stationed itself in the province bringing rain, hail, sleet, and snow with it. Much snow has melted on initial contact, while a few grassy areas saw small amounts of accumulation. Optimistically, the early September snowfall experienced in parts of the province […] Read more


One of the pulse research projects will look at yield loss in peas caused by root rot.

Crop Commissions fund pulse, canola research

Reading Time: < 1 minute Pulse and canola research is getting a boost from Alberta. Alberta Pulse Growers is putting $2.4 million into Pulse Science Cluster projects, a collaborative effort of the three Prairie commissions, their Ontario counterpart, and Pulse Canada. Among the projects are disease resistance in early-maturing bean lines for Alberta; genetically improved field pea varieties and germplasm; […] Read more



It breaks your heart — and sends your stress levels soaring: Irmi and Barry Critcher in a canola field this summer and in the same field earlier this month.

The long wait: Delayed harvest wears you down

The stress isn’t just in the mind — and talking things out will lessen those physiological drivers

Reading Time: 5 minutes Fatigue when working long hours is a serious safety concern on farms — but another kind of exhaustion often sets in when farmers want to be out in the field, but are hampered by poor weather. “Even though we aren’t actually combining and it’s not physically taxing, the fatigue can still be there,” said Hannah […] Read more

Rain, snow continue to mess with harvest, now well behind five-year average

Alberta crop conditions as of September 18, 2018

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cold, wet weather has been the norm the past several days in almost all areas of the province, halting harvest progress. In addition to the rain/snow mix, frost has been highly variable. Alberta’s harvest as a whole is down 23.4 points over last year at this time for binned crops. With the exception of North […] Read more