Signs of drought stress and reports of frost in latest crop report

Jun 22, 2021 | 2:00 PM

Alberta Agriculture’s June 15 crop report says warm, windy weather the week prior to that date depleted soil moisture in the Peace, especially in the central portions.

With that, there were some signs of stress from the dry conditions.

Grande Prairie has seen a couple of millimetres of rain since, but temperatures have climbed into the 20s and could be in the 30s by the weekend.

The report also says some areas had frost June 8. It did not mention if any crops were damaged.

As of June 15, 73.1 per cent of the crops in the Peace were rated in good to excellent condition. That is ahead of both the five-year and ten-year averages of 69.4 and 71.4 per cent respectively.

The breakdown by crop in good to excellent condition is 76.1 per cent for peas, 72.9 per cent each for spring wheat and canola, 71 per cent for barley, and 70.6 per cent for oats.

Alberta Agriculture says there were no pest concerns as of the 15th and spraying was 44 per cent complete.

by Curtis Galbraith