(rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By AFSC/Government of Alberta

Conditions as of Aug. 6, 2024

Alberta Crop Report: August 9

Aug 9, 2024 | 2:53 PM

Cooler temperatures and rainfall were welcome relief that is expected to help later seeded crops in Alberta’s Central Zone, while earlier seeded crops continue to ripen quickly.

According to the latest Crop Report from Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) and the Government of Alberta, silage of crops with expected low yields continues to help build stocks of animal feed.

Major crop conditions are 28 per cent poor, 50 per cent fair, 21 per cent good and 1 per cent excellent. Sub-surface moisture ratings are 45 per cent poor, 39 per cent fair, 14 per cent good, 2 per cent excellent, and 0 per cent excessive.

Elsewhere over the last week, widespread thunderstorms brought much needed moisture across the province. The storms helped lower temperatures to the mid to high 20s across all regions. This provided relief for crops which have been stressed due to prolonged periods of high temperatures. The rain is expected to help later-seeded crops meet yield expectations and promote growth in parched hay and pasture fields.

The heat stress during July has caused crop development to accelerate, resulting in crops maturing ahead of historical averages for this week, with spring wheat and barley reported as in the early stages of dough development, and oats at the late stages of milk development. However, reduced pasture and hay growth through the July heat wave is resulting in difficult decisions to be made, with all regions noting that some producers are choosing to silage their poorer crops to improve their supply of livestock feed.

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Provincial crop condition ratings continue to decline slightly from the previous week by 3 per cent. Currently, 46 per cent of crops in Alberta are in good or excellent condition, compared to the 5-year average of 56 per cent. Compared to the previous crop report, growing condition ratings have dropped in most regions, except for Peace Region. Specifically, the North East Region saw the most significant deterioration, down by 8 per cent, followed by the South Region that declined by 3 per cent, and the Central Region, which decreased by 2 per cent. Conditions in the North West Region deteriorated marginally by 1 per cent, while the Peace Region remained stable.

Over the past week, cooler temperatures and rainfall have improved the provincial surface soil moisture. Surface soil moisture rated as good to excellent in Alberta is 40 per cent, a weekly increase of 7 per cent). Regionally, soil moisture rated as good to excellent is 35 per cent in the South Region, remaining unchanged from last week. The Central Region increased to 38 per cent, up by 8 per cent. The North East improved to 41 per cent, a 7 per cent rise. The North West saw a significant increase to 43 per cent, up by 26 per cent. The Peace Region also increased, reaching 60 per cent, a 10 per cent gain.

Regional sub-surface soil moisture good to excellent ratings (change from last week) are reported at 26 (-1) per cent in the South Region, 16 (+2) per cent for the Central Region, 40 (+6) per cent for the North East Region, 33 (+14) per cent for the North West Region, and 60 (+5) per cent for the Peace Region. Overall, provincial sub-surface soil moisture good to excellent ratings are reported as 30 per cent, which is a 3 per cent improvement from the previous week.

Pasture conditions have slowly decreased under hot dry conditions since the beginning of July with a provincial good to excellent rating of 40 per cent, which is 2 per cent lower than last week. Regionally, 41 (45 per cent last week) of pasture is rated good to excellent in the South Region, 39 (39) per cent in the Central Region, 36 (40) per cent in the North East Region, 26 (25) per cent in the North West Region and 63 (63) per cent in the Peace Region.

Currently, provincial tame hay is rated 34 per cent good to excellent, slightly down from last week’s 36 per cent. Regionally, 38 per cent (42 last week) of tame hay is rated good to excellent in the South Region, 21 (21) per cent in the Central Region, 24 (29) per cent in the North East Region, 32 (30) per cent in the North West Region and 63 (63) per cent in the Peace Region.

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