As of September 26, 14 of the 28 fields in Alberta this year have come off.

Taber went recently. They had an early hail, waited for second growth, and still got 50 bu. It looks like it’s that kind of fall.

Manning texted to say most crops are still out and it’s raining. La Crete is raining as well at the time I’m writing this.

On the brighter side, most crops that have been harvested are good. Bear Lake (Grande Prairie) got 85 bu on dryland wheat. Granum canola came off this week with 150 acres at 45 bu/acre. Linden also harvested this week with 300 acres of wheat at 62 bu. The harvest took three hours with 8 combines.

Next week, Newell hopes to harvest, and soon after that Bonnyville, Fort Saskatchewan, Legal, and Kneehill North (Huxley). And that still leaves quite a few, including Carstairs, where the stooks are up and threshers are being readied. I’ve included some harvest pictures below.

An aerial photograph of 11 combines harvesting a crop.
Westfield (Foremost): 30th harvest

Two red combine harvest a canola crop leaving a trail of dust in their wake
Granum: Canola dust

Canadian Foodgrains and AFSC signage stand in front of a crop that's almost ready to harvest
Legal: Almost ready for harvest.

A 1949 Massey combine harvests a crop
Bear Lake:1949 Massey combine

A line up of trucks waits to be loaded as harvest progresses
Ponoka: Trucks ready for loading

An aerial photograph of four combines harvesting a crop.
Linden: 300 acres of wheat

As always, a big thank you to all you supporters who make the work to end hunger possible. It is a work of faith; we all know we won’t finish the job, but that is how faith works itself into our lives. We commit to actions and activities even when we can’t finally measure the results or complete the work. This is what we are called to.

And especially during this challenging harvest season, thank you to the many farmers and ag industry supporters who patiently (sometimes impatiently too) wait for weather to cooperate with the combines.  It’s a big job every year, but some harvests seem more challenging than others.

Thank you to everyone for all that is being done.

-Abe, Canadian Foodgrains Bank regional representative