Every year, from May until the end of harvest (October or November), Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation (AGI) in partnership with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) and the Alberta Agricultural Fieldmen, delivers the Alberta Crop Reporting program.
“The Alberta Crop Report captures timely information related to crop production in Alberta during the current crop season,” says Brooklyn Wong, crop statistician with AGI. “Data collected through the surveys, along with the information from other sources such as climate maps are used to compile the weekly crop reports at both provincial and regional levels.”
Information is gathered through weekly surveys which collect data on moisture, crop conditions, seeding and harvest progress, insect and disease outbreaks, yield potential and crop quality.
“Crop reports help producers make informed management decisions and are used by the Ministry, industry and other stakeholders for various purposes, including drought monitoring and forecasting of production insurance payments,” explains Wong.