Wheat fields in Southern Alberta. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

57% of Southern Albertan crops in “Good to Excellent Condition”

Jul 4, 2019 | 6:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new report from the Alberta Government claims that crop conditions in three out of five regions is faring better than the southern region. The data is taken from their June 25th samples.

In Southern Alberta, which includes communities like Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Strathmore, and Foremost, oats and canola are faring the best with approximately 60% being in the “Good to Excellent” category.

The same is true for 59% of barley, 56% of dry peas, and 55% of spring wheat, giving the area an average of 57.3% of crops being good or excellent.

This is down significantly from the five year average in Southern Alberta of 73.5% and the current provincial average of 71%.

The report says that while the region has gotten spotty rain over the last week, it was not enough to noticeably improve soil conditions.

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“Surface soil moisture reserves declined slightly by one per cent from a week ago,” reads the report. “Sub-surface moisture remained unchanged and now is rated as 26 per cent poor, 45 per cent fair, 28 per cent good and one per cent excellent.”

In Southern Alberta, 77% of the surface soil moisture is rated as being either fair or good, 21 percent is poor, and only 1.5% is excellent.

The full report can be accessed here.