Final Alberta Yield Estimates Above Average

Oct 07, 2022

With the harvest winding down, final Alberta yield estimates for the 2022 season remain above the five- and 10-year averages.

The weekly Alberta crop report on Friday pegged the average spring wheat yield in the province at 52.9 bu/acre, barley at 74.8 bu, oats at 95.2 bu, canola at 38.2 bu and dry peas at 43.8 bu. Those estimates are relatively little changed from the previous provincial estimates released in September, but are 10% above the five-year average and almost 6% above the 10-year average.

In comparison, the Statistics Canada model-based estimates, also released in September, put the average Alberta spring wheat yield at 58.7 bu/acre, barley at 71.5, oats at 78.9 bu, canola at 41.7 bu, and peas at 41.4 bu.

Quality expectations are also being reported favorably on major crops relative to long-term normal with exception of durum. Hard Red Spring Wheat is expected at 68% No. 1 CW (versus 54% for the five-year average) and is reported in particularly high quality in the Peace. Barley, canola, and dry pea quality expectations are modestly ahead of their long-term averages and oats marginally behind long-term normal quality. Durum is the notable exception, with more than normal of the total provincial crop expected at the No. 2 CW grade.

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.