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Crop Conditions as of November 15, 2016
With a rapidly shrinking harvest window and a few good weather days, producers made every effort to harvest as much crop as possible as the onset of winter looms on the horizon. Producers in the Central and North West regions made good progress raising the provincial harvest percentage to 87%, an increase of 6 percentage points over last week (See Table #1). Yields are above average throughout the province with the yields of some crops approaching those of 2013 but quality is extremely disappointing with significant downgrades due to high moisture content.
Excessive surface soil moisture remains a significant issue in the northerly regions of the province. The North East is rating 27% of the region as excessive, with the North West at 56% and the Peace region at 21%. This excessive moisture could be helpful if it freezes allowing for harvest equipment to access wet fields but a significant factor regarding when producers can get on the land next spring depending on snow accumulations this winter.
The last Crop Conditions Report of the season will be surveyed November 29th and released December 2nd.
REGIONAL ASSESSMENTS:
The 2016 Alberta Crop Report Series continues to provide summaries for the following five regions:
Region One: Southern (Strathmore, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Foremost)
- Weather was very conducive to allow producers the opportunity to finish harvest operations for the season.
- Regional yields are average to slightly above average.
- 77% of region rating surface soil moisture as good or excellent; sub soil moisture rated 73% good or excellent.
- 86% of fall seeded crops rated in good to excellent condition.
Region Two: Central (Rimbey, Airdrie, Coronation, Oyen)
- Harvest is 95% complete in the east, 98% complete in the central, and 85% complete in the west portion for a regional average of almost 92% harvested.
- Yields are above average and approaching those of 2013.
- Snow in amounts of 5 – 10 cm fell in the west portion of the region on November 15. With below freezing highs for the next 5 – 7 days, it may be here to stay.
- 90% of region rated good or excellent for surface soil moisture. 4% rated as excessive.
- 80% of region rated good or excellent for sub soil moisture. 3% rated excessive.
Region Three: North East (Smoky Lake, Vermilion, Camrose, Provost)
- Harvest is 90-95% complete in east portion but only 60% complete in the remainder of the region for a regional average of 76% done. Rain or showers on the past weekend has stopped harvesting again.
- Yields are above average and approaching or exceeding those of 2013.
- 73% of region rating surface soil moisture as good or excellent, remaining 27% rated as excessive.
- 99% of region rating sub soil moisture as good or excellent.
Region Four: North West (Barrhead, Edmonton, Leduc, Drayton Valley, Athabasca)
- Producers made good harvest progress despite the poor conditions. Harvest is approximately 70% complete in the west and 80% complete in the north for a regional average of 77%, up 17 percentage points on the week.
- Yields are above average but below those reported in 2013.
- Excessive soil moisture a major issue in this region. 56% of the region is rated as excessive for surface soil moisture; the remainder is rated as excellent. 99% of region rated as good or excellent for sub soil moisture.
Region Five: Peace River (Fairview, Falher, Grande Prairie, Valleyview)
- Harvest progress has been virtually zero since the middle of October and many areas of the region remain too wet to access. Producers are waiting for the ground to freeze.
- Yields to date have been well above average but generally below those obtained in 2013.
- 70% of region rating surface soil moisture as good or excellent. A further 21% of region rated as excessive.
- 70% of region rated good or excellent for sub soil moisture with an additional 17% rated as excessive.
Agriculture Financial Services Corporation
James Wright, Risk Analyst
Actuarial, Analytics & Forecasting Unit
E-mail: james.wright@afsc.ca
Phone: 403-782-8336
Lacombe, Alberta
November 18, 2016
Note to Users: The contents of this document may not be used or reproduced without properly accrediting Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Economics and Competitiveness Branch, Statistics and Data Development Section
The 2016 Alberta crop reporting series is available on the Internet at: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sdd4191
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