Alberta Wheat Production to Rise by 14 Per Cent

by | Sep 1, 2020 | Harvest

Alberta wheat production is expected to follow the national trend and increase by 14 per cent to 11.7 million tonnes, Statistics Canada’s production of principal field crops for July 2020, says. Nationally, wheat production is projected to rise by 10.5 per cent year over year to 35.7 million tonnes, due to larger anticipated yields and higher harvested area.

In Alberta, harvested are is expected to edge up by 0.2 per cent to 7.2 million acres, while yields are predicted to rise by 13.8 per cent to 59.5 bushels per acre.

While canola production is expected to fall nationally, it is predicted to increase in Alberta. Alberta production is expected to  by 8.6 per cent, while nationally it is predicted to drop by 0.4 per cent.

Farmers across the Prairies have had to deal with excessive rain and lower-than-average temperatures this summer, the report notes. Data from the Crop Condition Assessment Program published by Statistics Canada, shows overall plant health in the Prairie provinces was equal to or much better than normal for most of the region. This points towards the possibility of higher-than-normal yields.

Statistics Canada notes this year to alleviate stress on farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic, they relied upon satellite technology to model preliminary crop yields and harvests for 2020. These methods have successfully been used to produce September yield estimates since 2016, the release says.

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