Crop Condition Assessment Program, April 10 to May 28, 2023

Released: 2023-06-08

Weekly data on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index for the period from April 10 to May 28, 2023, are now available as part of Statistics Canada's Crop Condition Assessment Program (CCAP).

The CCAP provides information on crop and pasture conditions derived from satellite images for all agricultural regions of Canada. The CCAP database contains the mean value of the 1-kilometre resolution and the 250-metre resolution satellite pixels within each of the census agriculture regions, census divisions and census consolidated subdivisions of Canada with pasture or cropland activity.

The CCAP is a joint initiative between Statistics Canada, Agricultural and Agri-Food Canada and Natural Resources Canada. The application will be updated on a weekly basis during the entire growing season.

Seeding progress and weather conditions

Seeding in Alberta, as of the fourth week of May, was approximately 85% complete compared with the five-year average of 80%. Saskatchewan's seeding was about 89% complete compared with the five-year average of 92%, while Manitoba's was about 87% complete compared with the five-year average of 91%.

According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, below-average precipitation for April and May were recorded across the Prairies, with the exception of the Peace River Region, where average precipitation was recorded. Average precipitation was recorded from Sarnia, Ontario, to Montréal, Quebec, while most of the Maritimes received below-normal amounts of precipitation.

Temperatures across Western Canada for the month of May were, in general, two to five degrees Celsius above average, while Eastern Canada and the Maritimes had average temperatures.

Above-normal temperatures increased crop and pasture development in the western region of the Prairies, while crop development lagged in the eastern portion of the Prairies

Map 1 
Crop and pasture growth conditions as of May 28, 2023, compared with the average (as observed from 1987 to 2022), by census division, Western Canada

Above-normal temperatures across Western Canada helped increase seeding progress; however, crop development was lagging in the eastern region of the Prairies. Vegetative growth in Manitoba was much lower than average (as observed from 1987 to 2022), while crop and pasture conditions in western Saskatchewan and most of Alberta were similar to average.

British Columbia's crop and pasture conditions were similar to the average (as observed from 1987 to 2022), except in the Fraser Valley and the Salmon Arm region, where they were lower than average due to below-average moisture and above-normal temperatures.

Crop conditions throughout Ontario and Quebec were ranked as lower when compared with the average (1987 to 2022)

Crop conditions throughout Ontario and Quebec were ranked as lower when compared with the average, while they were similar to or better than average throughout the Maritimes.

Map 2 
Crop and pasture growth conditions as of May 28, 2023, compared with the average (as observed from 1987 to 2022), by census division, Central and Atlantic Canada

Products

The product Crop Condition Assessment Program, 2023 (Catalogue number22-205-X), is available.

Weekly satellite images from the start of the 2023 growing season have been processed and are now available on the Crop Condition Assessment Program webpage.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).