July 2017 Estimate of Production of Principal Field Crops, Alberta

Agri-Food Statistics Update - Issue No: CR17-1

Collected from a variety of sources, the Statistics and Data Development Section monitors statistical indicators of agri-food activity for Alberta. The Agri-Food Statistics Update is designed to provide users with commentary on current issues, trends and new developments related to agriculture and the food and beverage processing industries. Up-to-date statistics are supplemented with informative charts and diagrams. To gauge Alberta’s performance, comparative data and information are often available for Canada and the provinces.

Please visit the following website for a complete listing of Agri-Food Statistics Update releases:
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sdd5270

Note to Users: The contents of this document may not be used or reproduced without properly accrediting Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Economics and Competitiveness Branch, Statistics and Data Development Section.

On August 31, 2017, Statistics Canada released their July estimates of crop production for 2017.

Key Messages:

This year’s crop season started with a wet spring and unharvested areas from the last season, which resulted in very late seeding. Estimated yields are highly variable across the province, due to non-uniform weather conditions, particularly in the Southern and Northern Regions.
In 2017, total production of selected principal field crops in Alberta is estimated at 22.6 million tonnes. This is down 9.3 per cent from a year ago, but still 7.7 percent above the 10-year average.
Spring wheat production in Alberta is expected to decline by 1.6 percent to 7.9 million tonnes, driven by a lower average yield, despite harvested area increasing.
Barley production is estimated at 3.7 million tonnes, down 15.4 percent, as yields are expected to decrease by 12.6 percent and harvested area down 3.3 percent.
Canola production could drop 1.6 percent to 6.1 million tonnes. Even so, it is still 20.0 percent higher than the 10-year average.
Corn for grain production is expected to jump 90.4 percent to a record 120,900 tonnes, which is 151.1 percent higher than the 10-year average. The marked production is driven by a 94.4 percent increase in harvested area, despite a drop in yields.

For more information about the content of this document, contact Ashan Shooshtarian.
This document is maintained by Rita Splawinski.
This information published to the web on September 28, 2017.
Last Reviewed/Revised on October 18, 2018.