Magrath area farmer Gary Stanford has been busy getting all of his machinery tucked away before the cold snap hits in just a few days. He said after a tough start, his crops rebounded this season.
“This year we were very concerned about our harvest and by the first of June we had no moisture, but we had good rains in June and the beginning of July and so we had a fairly good crop,” said Stanford.
“It was more of an average crop for us in this area.”
Alberta Wheat and Barley Commission agronomy specialist Jeremy Boychyn said overall, Alberta crops did well.
“This harvest went relatively smoothly which was nice to see, things going into the bin well,” said Boychyn. “Yields ended up being average or above the five-year average which was great to see, quality was also good across the province.”
The final Alberta crop report shows hard red spring wheat, canola and dry peas were above their five-year averages, while durum wheat and oats were lower. Quality for malt and feed barley was steady with the five-year average.
Stanford said his crops in southern Alberta are on par with the rest of the province.
“Spring wheat went to 35 for bushel, but last year, you know, our crops were like 10 to 20 with the drought that was on.”
This summer’s lack of moisture is being felt as we head into winter. A heavy snowfall would help top up the depleted soil, but Boychyn added when we start to warm up again is when we really need to see some precipitation.
“We really need more rainfall in the spring to continue to help with germination, continue plant growth through the season to produce a good crop that producers can bank on,” Boychyn said.
One advantage to the hot dry summer, farmers were able to wrap up harvest two to three weeks earlier than the five-year average.