Alberta's Agriculture Financial Services Corporation put together the first crop report of the season.
Manglai a product coordinator with AFSC, says provincially there's now 23 per cent of the 2025 crop is now in the ground, thawhich t's well ahead of the 5-year average of 12 per cent, and the 10-year average of 14 per cent.
"Regionally - the South leads with 50 per cent of all crops seeded, followed by the Central Region at 22 per cent, the Peace Region at 10 per cent, the North West at 8 per cent, and the North East at 6 per cent."
Fall-seeded crops are off to a strong start, with 72 per cent rated good to excellent and 25 per cent rated fair.
AFSC notes that while early conditions are promising, timely rainfall in the coming weeks will be crucial to support crop emergence and establishment.
Over the past 30 days, much of the Southern, Central, and North West regions received between 20 and 40 mm of precipitation, while most areas in the North East and Peace regions received near-normal amounts, ranging from 2 to 10 mm.
Provincially, pasture growth is rated 60 per cent good to excellent, while tame hay is slightly ahead at 61 per cent rated good to excellent.
Feedback on forage and feed grain reserves indicates that approximately 76 per cent of producers have adequate or surplus forage, and 85 per cent report adequate or surplus feed grain supplies to carry them through until grazing begins.
Regional Assessments:
Region One: South (Strathmore, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Foremost) Seeding progress for all crops (major crops) is 50 (46) per cent complete, compared to the 5-year average of 32 (29) per cent. Reported sub-surface moisture is 5 per cent poor, 44 per cent fair, 47 per cent good, 4 per cent excellent, and 0 per cent excessive. Reported conditions of fall-seeded crop are 5 per cent poor, 20 per cent fair, 63 per cent good, and 12 per cent excellent. Conditions of tame hay are reported as 4 per cent poor, 39 per cent fair, 56 per cent good, and 2 per cent excellent.
Region Two: Central (Rimbey, Airdrie, Coronation, Oyen) Seeding progress for all crops (major crops) is 22 (22) per cent complete, compared to the 5-year average of 8 (8) per cent. Reported sub-surface moisture is 13 per cent poor, 35 per cent fair, 50 per cent good, 2 per cent excellent, and 0 per cent excessive. Reported conditions of fall-seeded crop are 3 per cent poor, 8 per cent fair, 87 per cent good, and 2 per cent excellent. Conditions of tame hay are reported as 8 per cent poor, 21 per cent fair, 67 per cent good, and 4 per cent excellent.
Region Three: North East (Smoky Lake, Vermilion, Camrose, Provost) Seeding progress for all crops (major crops) is 6 (6) per cent complete, compared to the 5-year average of 2 (2) per cent. Reported sub-surface moisture is 15 per cent poor, 50 per cent fair, 36 per cent good, 0 per cent excellent, and 0 per cent excessive. Reported conditions of fall-seeded crop are 2 per cent poor, 48 per cent fair, 50 per cent good, and 0 per cent excellent. Conditions of tame hay are reported as 4 per cent poor, 41 per cent fair, 53 per cent good, and 2 per cent excellent.
Region Four: North West (Barrhead, Edmonton, Leduc, Drayton Valley, Athabasca) Seeding progress for all crops (major crops) is 8 (8) per cent complete, compared to the 5-year average of 2 (2) per cent. Reported sub-surface moisture is 6 per cent poor, 40 per cent fair, 45 per cent good, 9 per cent excellent, and 0 per cent excessive. Reported conditions of fall-seeded crop are 0 per cent poor, 40 per cent fair, 58 per cent good, and 2 per cent excellent. Conditions of tame hay are reported as 2 per cent poor, 24 per cent fair, 72 per cent good, and 2 per cent excellent.
Region Five: Peace (Fairview, Falher, Grande Prairie, Valleyview) Seeding progress for all crops (major crops) is 10 (10) per cent complete, compared to the 5-year average of 4 (4) per cent. Reported sub-surface moisture is 3 per cent poor, 17 per cent fair, 57 per cent good, 23 per cent excellent, and 1 per cent excessive. Conditions of tame hay are reported as 22 per cent poor, 39 per cent fair, 36 per cent good, and 3 per cent excellent.