Alberta Crop Report: June 16, 2026

As of June 16, standing water in lower areas of Alberta’s North West Region remains a concern for farmers, possibly requiring re-seeding and some acres to be unseeded.

That’s according to the latest crop report by the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) and the Government of Alberta.

The report says high soil moisture also presents a concern for disease, as spraying has been limited.

Sub-surface soil moisture (five-year average) was rated as zero (17) per cent poor, eight (22) per cent fair, 65 (52) per cent good, 22 (nine) per cent excellent and five (zero) per cent excessive.

Meantime, tame hay growth conditions (five-year average) were rated as two (13) per cent poor, 13 (23) per cent fair, 58 (52) per cent good and 27 (12) per cent excellent.

Across the province, moisture patterns were reported as highly variable.

Many areas throughout the southern part of the province received timely and sufficient precipitation that replenished soil moisture and supported crop development. The AFSC says central and northern areas are experiencing excess moisture, with standing water in low-lying fields and delayed emergence due to saturated soils and cool weather. Regions with more rain have also reported that some seeding acres remain unfinished due to saturated fields.

According to the report, conditions of major crops, provincially, were rated 68 per cent good-to-excellent. This is above last year’s major crops report of 49 per cent good-to-excellent and the five-year average of 64 per cent, but below the 10-year average of 71 per cent. Potatoes, flax, and lentils were all rated over 80 per cent good-to-excellent, while oats, mustard and canola had the lowest ratings.

Regionally, crop conditions (change from last year) in the South (+33 per cent), Central (+28 per cent) and Peace (+40 per cent) regions were all significantly above last year’s ratings. The North East Region was stable (+2 per cent) compared to last year, while the North West was 10 per cent below.

Provincially, crop staging of spring cereals ranged from near tillering to main shoot and seven tillers compared to last year, when durum was at flag leaf and other cereals were near the end of tillering or just entering stem elongation. The most advanced cereals were in the South Region, which were beginning stem elongation, compared to the Peace Region where cereals were beginning to tiller. Many areas also reported that cool spring conditions were delaying early growth and varying crop development.

The percentage of broadleaf crops (canola, dry peas, lentils, chickpeas and mustard) staged in 1-3 leaf/node was 34 per cent higher year-over-year and broadleaf crops in 4-6 leaf/node was 17 per cent below last year’s reports. While weed and pest pressures were low, there is concern that continued moisture will limit spraying abilities needed to maintain those low pressures. Post-emergent spraying is 23 per cent behind year-over-year, according to the report.

Even though most of the province received between five to 50 mm of precipitation over the last week, some areas of the South and Central regions still reported decreases in surface and sub-surface soil moisture conditions. In comparison, the AFSC says some areas in the North West Region, as well as pockets around the province, had more excessive soil moisture.

As for temperatures around the province, the seven-day average daily mean relative to the long-term normal has been near normal, while most of the Peace Region was moderately warm. Officials say warm weather and sunshine are needed to see the potential yield outcomes that come with the high precipitation reported, especially in the North East and North West regions.

Regional sub-surface soil moisture good-to-excellent ratings (change from last week) were reported as 65 (-9) per cent in the South Region, 79 (-1) per cent for the Central Region, 82 (+8) per cent for the North East Region, 87 (+5) per cent for the North West Region, and 89 (-5) per cent for the Peace Region.

Meantime, most regions showed stability in the percentage of pasture rated good-to-excellent (prior week’s rating). Regionally, pasture growth in the South was rated at 59 (63), the Central at 74 (72), the North East at 93 (90), the North West at 82 (84) and the Peace at 43 (30) per cent. While all regions were rated significantly higher than last year (ranging from 17-61 per cent above), when compared to the five-year average, the South was 15 per cent above, Central was 14 per cent above, North East was 42 per cent above and North West was 22 per cent above, while the Peace Region was five per cent below. Since recent rains have driven rapid pasture growth, most cattle have reportedly been turned out to pasture across the province.

Provincial tame hay conditions (70 per cent good-to-excellent) were rated above the five- and 10-year averages (53 and 63 per cent, respectively), with similar trends across the regions. While growth was reported to be progressing well, slow initial growth and frequent rain reportedly limited provincial haying progress compared to previous years.

Only one-half per cent of dryland hay has been cut, compared to progress of three per cent reported last year and the five-year average of two per cent complete. Irrigated hay was also only five per cent complete first cut compared to last year’s 22 per cent and the five-year average of 14 per cent complete.