Crop Progress Updates for the year 2021.
The 2021 barley harvest in western Canada was largely wrapped up by the end of September this year, with the exception of a few areas such as the Peace which were completed in October. By all accounts 2021 was one of the worst growing seasons in a generation with dismal results in terms of both the quantity and quality of this year’s barley crop in western Canada.
Crop conditions in Western Canada deteriorated through July and August due to severe drought which affected crop growth and development. Now rainfall is creating more concerns as farmers harvest their crops. The combination of drought and now wet harvest weather in some regions have significantly affected the size and quality of the western Canadian barley crop this year.
Parts of Western Canada are mired in the worst drought since 1988. Heat and lack of rain has caused irreversible production loss that will increase if dry conditions and lack of rainfall continue in coming weeks. The excessive heat in the southern region of Alberta and the Southwest region of Saskatchewan has caused the barley plants to shut down. These two regions traditionally produce over 2 million tonnes of barley, and it is estimated that 1.5 million tonnes of production is already lost.