The seed rows are clearly visible in many canola fields throughout Alberta’s Peace River region, with stunted plants barely reaching the lower calf and already flowering.
The crop in large areas of the district this year may look spartan but has a tremendous ability to recover, said Nick Underwood, agronomist with Alberta’s Reduced Tillage Linkages program at Grande Prairie.
“If we get rain in the next 10 days or so, it will produce a reasonable crop,” he said.
Precipitation has varied across the Peace since seeding, with Manning getting as much as 250 millimetres and Fairview getting as little as three mm.
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Underwood called areas west from Grande Prairie, north to Rycroft and toward Peace River “really, really dry.”
Dawson is reporting extremely dry conditions, while Fahler, Fairview, Cleardale, Beaverlodge and Hines Creek are dry.
“There’s a very serious drought in the west (Peace),” he said.
Crops emerged evenly in good moisture at seeding and have since struggled, with localized showers hitting some fields and missing others.
Recent 30 C days and wind have added to crop stress.
Underwood said wheat crops will likely disappoint producers, because their yield potential is set by now.
Fairview grower Ron Heck said while a general rain is needed, too much moisture could cause the wheat to re-stool.
That would mean wheat growing at various stages in fields leading to downgrades at the elevator.
Heck said canola would greatly benefit from 25 to 50 mm of rain over the next three weeks, he said.
As of July 7, his farm has had 46 days straight with little or no rain. Heck, who grows wheat, barley, canola and fescue, cannot remember when it was ever this dry.
“Everything is pretty much burnt,” he said, citing some flower blasting in canola.
Norm Boulet, fieldman with the Alberta Association of Agricultural Fieldmen, said recent hot weather and an “iffy” rain forecast for the coming week has producers on edge.
“If we could get another inch of rain, we’d be beautifully set,” he said.
Boulet has already received 175 mm of rain for his crops of wheat, canola and oats north of Donnelley, where he was busy baling hay July 7.
The three to four feet of snow melted off the fields and into the ground with very little runoff.
He said area pastures are showing good to excellent growth and first cut hay operations were in full swing in last week’s good weather.
Yields and quality are good, with moisture now needed to help new growth.
Hay acres are down substantially this year since the local alfalfa plant closed.
Alberta generally is experiencing a good crop year, with few serious reports of pests and diseases.
James Wright of Agriculture Financial Services Corporation at Lacombe said warmer summer weather is welcome.
“We have to catch up in maturity and heat should help but we will need more warmth to get things back in line with what they should be,” he said.
Subsoil moisture is at 86 percent in the south and closer to 70 percent in central regions.
Wright said conditions are deteriorating from Edmonton to the Saskatchewan border as evidenced by the poor first cut hay tonnage at Smoky Lake, Wainwright and Camrose.
