Reading Time: 6 minutes Frequent rain since July accompanied with cool temperature increased excessive soil moisture particularly in the North East and North West Regions. Hailstorms damaged some mature crops in southern parts of the province and destroyed some field crops in other areas. Additionally, a light frost occurred in the western to central parts of the Peace Region, […] Read more
Alberta’s Peace Region gets a touch of frost, crop conditions see slight decline overall
Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of August 13

ICE weekly outlook: Canola watching pre-harvest weather
MarketsFarm — ICE canola futures held rangebound during the week ended Wednesday, with uncertainty over new-crop production likely to keep some caution in the market over the next few weeks. “Canola is very attractively priced right now,” said Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg, noting crush margins have improved significantly in recent weeks to […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Alberta markets optimistic despite weather
MarketsFarm — Varied weather across Alberta has made for an unpredictable pulse harvest. “We’ve seen everything from drought-like conditions in the south, to an overabundance of water in the central region, and to some degree in the north as well,” said Leanne Fischbuch, executive director of Alberta Pulse. Despite less-than-favourable weather conditions, pulse producers are […] Read more

Prairies at risk of frosty harvest
MarketsFarm — Another dilemma is expected for the 2019 growing season: after a late start, western Canadian farmers could be challenged by an early end. Over the Aug. 10 weekend there were isolated reports of frost in some areas of the Peace region in northwestern Alberta. Other parts of the Prairies may be experiencing similar […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Varying yields make for average crop
MarketsFarm — Feed grain crop yields are expected to be about average across the Prairies as harvest has kicked off. “It appears we’ll have somewhat of an average crop, with a bunch of high-yield areas and a bunch of low yield areas averaged together,” said Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge. New-crop […] Read more

In a year of extremes, soil moisture rebound a bright spot
The rain, snow, and cold in early fall had one upside — it recharged soil moisture reserves in much of the province
Reading Time: 4 minutes This year’s harvest was tough, but there is one good thing about it: Soil moisture and subsoil moisture are at almost normal levels in most of the province. “The soil moisture is looking better than it was at the end of August,” said Harry Brook, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “It’s closer […] Read more

An early spring provided a longer- than-average frost-free season
Many parts of Alberta saw earlier-than-usual fall frosts but had a pretty decent frost-free period
Reading Time: 3 minutes Every year around this time the weather discussion begins to centre around the first fall frost. Some years, like when we see an early-fall frost, this topic is at the forefront of conversations. This year, if you live in Alberta or Saskatchewan then there is a good chance that you’ve already seen your first fall frost […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Downgrades likely for Alberta crops
CNS Canada — Snow and wet weather through a large swath of northern and central Alberta are causing havoc for farmers and will likely put more feed grains into the market. But normal harvest price discounts are still not as great as expected, said Susanne Leclerc of Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton. Feed grain prices […] Read more

First widespread frost lands on Prairies
CNS Canada — Farmers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are waiting nervously for damage reports from Tuesday night’s frost. In Manitoba, fields between Riding Mountain National Park and Duck Mountain Provincial Park were hit with sustained frosts. “There are a few areas where they had a long duration of a light frost and that’s as bad […] Read more

Manitoba soy growers likely face light yields
CNS Canada — Manitoba soybeans will be ready for harvest well ahead of normal, provincial pulse crop specialist Dennis Lange said, fresh from fields where he was conducting maturity ratings. He said he was out around Morris on Tuesday and some soybean varieties there are already nearing full maturity. Throughout Manitoba, farmers could be taking […] Read more