Alberta Crop Report - October 21, 2010

The October 21, 2010 Crop Report is also available as a PDF file on the AFSC website.

Prepared by:
James Wright
Business Risk Management Division
Actuarial & Program Readiness
AFSC, Lacombe
Telephone: (403)782-8336

Provincial
Favourable weather allowed harvest to progress at a sustained pace. Harvest is estimated at 86% complete, up from 50% two weeks ago. Harvest is nearing completion in the North East and North West regions and is virtually completed in the Peace River region. Harvest progress continues to lag in the South and Central regions but good progress was accomplished over the past 2 weeks.

Harvest Progress (as of October 21, 2010)


Quality will be a significant issue this year especially for grains originating out of the South and Central regions of the province as frost caused significant damage to crops which were late in maturing due to the cool summer weather.

Quality Estimates (as of October 21, 2010)


Sub soil moisture ratings declined slightly with a 3% decline in the area rated good/excellent. This decline was off set somewhat by a 1% declined in the area rated poor. Sub soil moisture is rated 13% poor/ 16% fair/ 48% good/ 23% excellent.

Southern Alberta
Some localized showers slowed harvest in the SW corner which is the most delayed area of the region. Yield is expected to be average to above average though quality will be much below average. Harvest of sugar beets, potatoes and dry beans are nearing completion with reports of dry beans being rejected due to frost damage. Subsoil moisture ratings remain unchanged at 0% poor/ 8% fair/ 50% good/41% excellent/ 1% excessive.

Central Alberta
Harvest progress is extremely variable across the region due to localized showers. Generally, harvest is close to complete in the west and east portions of the region but delayed in the central portion. Yields are expected to be average to above average though quality will be a significant issue this year. Sub soil moisture ratings have declined slightly with a 3% decline from good/excellent into the fair category. Sub soil moisture is rated 0% poor/ 13% fair/ 59% good/ 28% excellent.

North East Alberta
Harvest is close to completion. Yields are anticipated to be average to slightly above average. Quality will be lower than average due to high green counts in canola and ergot in wheat. Sub soil moisture ratings have declined with a 5% move from the good/excellent category into the fair category. Sub soil moisture is rated 5% poor/ 18% fair/ 65% good/ 12% excellent.

North West Alberta
Harvest is close to completed. Yields are expected to be average due to timely precipitation during the growing season. Quality will be an issue due to frost and delayed harvesting conditions. The region requires precipitation to begin to rebuild sub soil moisture levels. Sub soil moisture ratings have declined significantly over the past 2 weeks with a 16% movement in the ratings from good/excellent into the fair and poor categories. Sub soil moisture is rated as 29% poor/ 39% fair/ 23% good/ 9% excellent.

Peace River Alberta
Harvest is complete. Yields will be down significantly due to the droughty conditions experienced this summer. Quality is good as the region did not experience the harvest delays which affected other regions. Sub soil moisture remains a significant concern throughout much of the region. Conditions have improved slightly over the past 2 weeks with a 10% move from poor into the fair category but three quarters of the region remains rated as poor. Sub soil moisture ratings are 74% poor/ 23% fair/ 3% good/ 0% excellent.

Prepared by Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, in cooperation with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. For more information, please contact the writer, James Wright.