Crop Progress: Harvest 2021 Continues Ahead of Average

Oct 29, 2021

For the week ending Oct. 24, 2021, there were 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 8% very short, 32% short, 58% adequate and 2% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 12% very short, 41% short, 45% adequate and 2% surplus.

Field Crops Report:

Corn condition rated 4% very poor, 7% poor, 18% fair, 44% good and 27% excellent. Corn harvested was 60%, behind 73% last year, but ahead of 47% for the five-year average.

Soybeans harvested was 88%, behind 96% last year, but ahead of 77% average.

Winter wheat condition rated 2% very poor, 9% poor, 30% fair, 51% good and 8% excellent. Winter wheat planted was 97%, equal to both last year and average. Emerged was 84%, near 82% last year and 86% average.

Sorghum mature was 96%, near 98% both last year and average. Harvested was 72%, behind 79% last year, but ahead of 54% average.

Dry edible beans harvested was 92%, near 96% last year.

Pasture and Range Report:

Pasture and range conditions rated 12% very poor, 19% poor, 53% fair, 15% good and 1% excellent.

Source : unl.edu

Video: Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

When was the last time you read the label on your honey?

We spent a day at Molenkamp Honey Farms with Michael Molenkamp, who has been keeping bees for 17 seasons and runs three to four thousand hives. In mid-September, he was finishing treatments and getting his bees ready for winter, and he walked us through how Alberta honey gets made.

Alberta has just 150 commercial beekeepers running 300,000 colonies, and together they produce 40% of Canada’s honey. Long summer days and golden canola fields give Alberta honey a light flavour that’s hard to match anywhere else.

Molenkamp calls Alberta beekeepers some of the most resilient farmers he knows. There’s plenty of Alberta honey to go around, but a lot on our shelves isn’t from here, so his ask is simple. Give the label a second look and choose honey made by Alberta beekeepers, or buy straight from a beekeeper near you.