MarketsFarm — With a 14-point gain on the week, the Alberta harvest surpassed the three-quarters complete mark.
As of Tuesday, Alberta farmers reached 79 per cent finished, just as cooler but drier weather was about to set in, the province reported.
While contending with mostly dry conditions, the harvest over the week was 16 points above the five-year average and 17 ahead of the 10-year average.
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The province’s dry peas led the way with almost 99 per cent done, followed by barley at 91 per cent and spring wheat at 89 per cent. Oats was a little bit back at 72 per cent off the fields with canola next at 62 per cent. Of the canola, 23 per cent was reported to be drying in swaths.
However, that ongoing lack of moisture remained a problem in much of Alberta, especially in the south. While surface soil moisture dipped one point to 30 per cent good to excellent provincewide, the south was also down one at only six per cent. The central region shed one point as well at 18 per cent good to excellent, the northeast added two at 47 per cent, but the northwest lost two at 71 per cent and Peace River gave up one at 63 per cent.
The province’s pastures were down one point at 19 per cent good to excellent overall, while the south also lost one at five per cent, as did the central at 16 per cent and the northwest at 37 per cent. Meanwhile the northeast fell three points to 29 per cent good to excellent and Peace River climbed one to 52 per cent.
