Canada Markets

A Slower Start to Alberta Seeding

Cliff Jamieson
By  Cliff Jamieson , Canadian Grains Analyst
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The blue bars represent the percentage of major crops seeded as of May 2 in Alberta, while the brown bars represent the five-year average for the first week of May. (DTN graphic by Cliff Jamieson)

The first prairie crop report of the season was released in Alberta on May 5, with estimates as of the May 2 cut-off.

The government has estimated 2.5% of major crops (spring wheat, barley, oats, canola and dry peas) were planted as of May 2, which compares to the five-year average for this period of 11% and the 10-year average of 11.6%. This is the slowest start since May 2018, or five years, when only 0.4% of the crop was estimated as seeded as of May 1.

While not shown on the attached chart, progress ranges from the Southern Region, where the 6.6% of major crops planted is 25.3 percentage points behind the five-year average pace for the region, to the Northwest Region, where the 1.1% of major crops seeded as of May 2 is 0.3 percentage points ahead of the average pace for the region for this week.

A look back to 2018 reports shows that planting progress for the province and three of the five provincial regions were ahead of their respective 5-year average as of May 29. The exception was the Southern Region and the Central Region, which were only slightly behind their five-year average pace. The province indicated that "for the most part, crops have caught up to normal."

Cliff Jamieson can be reached at cliff.jamieson@dtn.com

Follow him on Twitter @Cliff Jamieson

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