Harvest is nearly wrapped up in the Central Region with 99 per cent of the crop in the bin. The provincial average is sitting at 96 per cent complete.
There is still about three per cent of total canola left to combine in the Central Region.
The five-year average for this time of year for the Central Region is about 87 per cent completion for major crops.
Brooklyn Wong, crop statistician with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, says that major crops in the Central Region were estimated to yield 19 per cent below the average yield.
"At the beginning of the season everyone was quite concerned about moisture and then throughout seeding in the Central Region there was a lot of concerns with high winds and soil erosion but then we got some good rains throughout June and crops were looking really good and then of course got that four weeks of extreme heat in July which negatively impacted the crops ability to fill out," she said.
Many farmers in the Central Region who have completed harvest are spraying or doing field work as heavy weed pressure and crop regrowth has been spotted in some fields due to later season moisture. Cold weather and killing frosts have helped manage this.
Surface (sub-surface) soil moisture is rated 17 (42) per cent poor, 28 (41) per cent fair, 53 (15) per cent good, 2 (2) per cent excellent and 0 (0) per cent excessive.
Related stories:
Forage reserves are estimated to be adequate for 85 per cent of the region and surplus for 4 per cent. Feed grain reserves are estimated to be adequate for 84 per cent of the region and surplus for 4 per cent.
Some producers are reported to be abandoning their second-cut hay. However, some parts of the region still indicated that farmers will be able to build up their reserve stocks with their surplus feed.
Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation says fall seeded crop quality has declined two per cent since last week and is now rated as 54 per cent good to excellent. The best ratings were in the South where fall seeded crop is rated 76 per cent good to excellent, followed by the Central Region at 64 per cent good to excellent and the North West with 57 per cent rated good to excellent. The lowest rated was in the North East Region at 11 per cent good to excellent.
Sign up to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon.
Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@centralalbertaonline.com.
CentralAlbertaOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the CentralAlbertaOnline app.