Peace (B.C. and Alberta): Dry and hot conditions the past week add to drought stress. South and central Peace regions really need rain. Most canola fields are at bolting to first flower stages.

Alberta: Thunderstorms brought variable rain in the past week, ranging from 4” for some to less than a tenth for others. Hail flattened some fields in the east central region. Moisture overall is decent and with several nice warm days in the past week, “canola is going gangbusters,” says John Mayko, CCC senior agronomy specialist for the west-central region. Earliest canola is flowering. Read the Alberta crop report.

Saskatchewan: Thunderstorms bring patchy rain. Melfort, St. Brieux and Birch Hills, for example, got “incredible amounts of moisture” again this week, says Jim Bessel, CCC senior agronomy specialist for the northeast region. Baldwinton and Cut Knife in the west got 4” in one day. Crop staging across the province varies widely from cotyledon to 30% flower. Read the Saskatchewan crop report.

Manitoba: As in Alberta and Saskatchewan, thunderstorms bring variable rain from 4” in some spots to under half an inch in others. Earliest canola is in full bloom, and many fields with good yield potential have been sprayed with fungicide already.