Canada Markets

Alberta's June 16 Crop Ratings

Cliff Jamieson
By  Cliff Jamieson , Canadian Grains Analyst
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This chart shows the Good to Excellent ratings estimates for selected Alberta crops as of June 16 (blue bars) as compared to last year (red bars) and the 2012 to 2014 three-year average (green bars). Durum and pulse crop such as pea and lentils are the highest-rated crops in the 50 to 55% Good to Excellent range. (DTN graphic by Nick Scalise)

Alberta's most recent crop ratings, as of June 16, shows the highest-rated crops as being durum, at 52.9% Good to Excellent, peas at 54.7% and lentils at 54.4% Good to Excellent (not shown on graphic), as indicated by Alberta Agriculture data. These three crops are also the only crops where ratings fall higher than the ratings released for Saskatchewan on Thursday, which also highlighted the difficult challenge that the province is facing due to a lack of moisture.

The most challenging region of the province is the North West region or Region 4, which includes an area surrounding the City of Edmonton, along with the towns of Barrhead, Leduc, Drayton Valley and Athabasca. This region reports only 7.9% of the region's surface soil moisture conditions rated Good, while 92.1% of the area is viewed as Fair to Poor. The overall crop is rated as being 16.1% Good to Excellent in this region, with the canola crop rated at 14.3% Good to Excellent, the lowest reported rate for any crop anywhere in the province.

Across the province, the canola crop is rated at 32.1% Good to Excellent, the poorest faring crop in a province which Statistics Canada estimates show was to seed close to 31% of the country's canola acreage. This estimate comes on the heels of Saskatchewan Agriculture's estimate of a 47% Good to Excellent rating for the province which currently estimated to seed 52.5% of the country's acreage.

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This week's Difference in Normalized Vegetation Index, calculated at a 250-meter resolution for the week of June 8 to 14, shows the majority of Alberta, along with both Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have lower-than-normal vegetation, although an area surrounding Edmonton is indicated as having much-lower-than-normal vegetation. This analysis is released by Statistics Canada every Monday.

The ratings released in mid-June show the most challenging conditions for the province since 2009. As of the June 18, 2009 report from Alberta Agriculture, soil moisture conditions were extremely dry, with spring wheat and barley crops rated at 31% Good to Excellent, peas at 29% Good to Excellent and canola at 26% Good to Excellent. Cool weather slowed crop development with crops reported at 10 to 14 days behind normal. Reports indicated relief in the way of showers by early July and additional rains of 20 millimetres to 100 mm across the province were received by mid-July. Statistics Canada data shows 2009 yields dropping .6% below the previous five-year average for durum, 5.3% below for canola, 8.6% below the average for wheat, and up to 13.5% below the five-year average for peas.

Environment Canada reported today that the Canadian Prairies will be warmer than normal this summer, while suggesting that current conditions are the driest on record.


DTN 360 Poll

This week's poll asks what you think about the consultation process in Saskatchewan regarding who should and should not be allowed to own farmland. We'd love to know what you think on this matter. You can weigh in to our poll found at the lower right of your DTN homepage.

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

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