Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Crop Condition Assessment Program
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
The Crop Condition Assessment Program has been launched for the 2009 growing season. This program combines state-of-the-art satellite remote sensing with geographic information systems and dynamic web mapping technologies.
This free web application provides timely, objective cropland and pasture monitoring information on a weekly basis for Canada's entire agricultural region, along with the northern half of the United States.
At the outset of the 2009 season, the program shows growing conditions above normal for the southern central portion of the Prairies. However, conditions at the outer fringes of the Prairies still seem to be affected by cold temperatures and late spring snowfalls.
In general, the actual growing conditions are similar or above normal for agricultural areas east of Manitoba. The impact of this spring's Red River flooding in Manitoba is also visible in the maps.
Satellite imagery is received every Monday afternoon from early April until mid-October. Weekly updates are made to the web application within minutes of receiving the satellite data.
Current conditions are compared with the 22-year average, which allows easy mapping of areas under stress, such as drought, flooding or snowstorms. Other products include thematic maps and data in graph and tabular format for four types of different geography layers, from the census agriculture region to the township level. The entire 22-year historical database is included in the application.
Also included is an experimental spring wheat yield forecast for the Prairies that will be updated in July. This yield forecast model uses historical yield estimates and current satellite image data to estimate crop yields in near real-time.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, through the National Land and Water Information Service and the National Agroclimate Information Service, has partnered with Statistics Canada to provide the application free of charge. The Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, part of Natural Resources Canada, has also contributed by providing software for processing the input satellite data.
The publication Crop Condition Assessment Program, 2009 (22-205-X, free), is now available from the Publications module of our website.
To visit the web application, go to (www26.statcan.ca/ccap/start-debut-eng.jsp).
For more information, or for custom requests, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Frédéric Bédard (613-951-3861; rsga@statcan.gc.ca), Agriculture Division.
