Harvest up to speed but regional yields are down

By Medicine Hat News on September 28, 2019.

Harvest in southern Alberta has caught up to speed as cold weather approaches, but yields are down after a dry spring and summer, according to the latest Alberta crop report.

With snow forecast for southwest and southeast Alberta this weekend, the crop report dated Sept. 23 states that nearly three quarters of major crops are in the bin. That’s up from 31 per cent one two weeks earlier, and six per cent better than the 10-year average.

Yields however, in the Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Strathmore and Foremost regions, are one-quarter lower overall for spring wheat (34 bushels per acre), durum (27) barley (46.3), canola (32.8) and dry peas (29.3).

Specialty crop yields are estimated to be 17.8 tons of potatoes per irrigated acre, 2,700 pounds for irrigated dry beans and 28.6 tons for sugar beats.

Provincially, the harvest sits well back of the longer term averages at 32.6 per cent complete.

In southwest Saskatchewan, farmers made gains during dry weather up to Sept. 23, to bring harvest to 58 per cent complete, but still behind the average at this point.

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