SASKATOON, Sask. — Fair to middling, not terrible, decent, OK: western Canadian farmers are using these sorts of words to describe the 2026 canola crop.
“I’m not disappointed in it, but not overjoyed, either,” said Dean Roberts, who farms near Coleville, north of Kindersley, Sask.
Roberts, chair of SaskOilseeds, said most canola crops in his region posted yields of 40 to 43 bushels per acre.
A yield in the low 40s is respectable for canola but nothing to brag about at the local curling rink.
“We needed one more shot of rain (in the summer). We would have had a really good crop (if that happened),” Roberts said.
Saskatchewan’s ministry of agriculture, in its first crop report of October, pegged the provincial canola yield at 40 bu. per acre, which means Roberts and other farmers in west-central Saskatchewan are slightly above the provincial average.
In north-central Saskatchewan, David Altrogge didn’t need an early August rain. He needed a functioning sprayer in July.
On his farm, near Saint Benedict, Sask., Altrogge seeded his canola later than usual. His crop was planted in late May and early June because this spring was cold and wet across much of the Prairies.
When 30 C temperatures arrived in July, it increased the risk for fungal diseases such as sclerotinia. However, Altrogge applied a fungicide to only 10 per cent of his canola fields because his sprayer broke down during the tight window of time in which to control the disease.
In spite of the delayed seeding in the spring and disease pressure during the summer, Altrogge’s canola produced a decent crop this fall, which he estimated at 43 bu. per acre.
“We don’t have spectacular yields, but we don’t have low yields,” he said.
“I’m OK with that…. Our yields might be down, but we’re going to make up for it on the price side of things.”
As of October 13 canola futures were trading at $813.00 per tonne, or about $18.50 per bu.
Alberta yields
The Alberta Agriculture crop report for Oct. 6, said canola yields across the province were 38.1 bu. per acre, down from 42.6 bu. per acre in 2025.
Yields were stronger in southern and central Alberta and poorer in the north, where they were 32 to 36 bu. per acre.
The weaker yields in northern regions can be explained by two words — excessive moisture.
“They went from four inches of rain last year to 24 inches of rain this year,” said Keith Gabert, an agronomist with the Alberta Canola Producers Commission.
“Farmers will bitterly complain about drought, but when they experience really excessive moisture, (maybe) drought isn’t that bad.”
The 24 inches is an exaggeration, but an immense amount of rain did fall on northern parts of Alberta this year.
In late May and early June, storms dumped 100 to 200 mm of precipitation in the region east and north of Edmonton.
That delayed or halted seeding for many producers, including Cheryl Westman, who farms near Vermillion. The extremely wet and slow start to the season was detrimental to canola, but yields on Westman’s farm were average.
“Our yields were actually up from last year because we had a drought (in 2025),” she said.
Other farmers in her region were less fortunate. Alberta Agriculture estimated canola yields at 36.4 bu. in the northeastern part of the province and even lower in the northwest – at 32.8 bu. per acre.
In Manitoba, growers are reporting yields that are below average to average. Too much rain in the spring, combined with a lack of rain during the summer, was detrimental to canola and other crops.
About the author
Reporter
Robert Arnason is a reporter with The Western Producer and Glacier Farm Media. Since 2008, he has authored nearly 5,000 articles on anything and everything related to Canadian agriculture. He didn’t grow up on a farm, but Robert spent hundreds of days on his uncle’s cattle and grain farm in Manitoba. Robert started his journalism career in Winnipeg as a freelancer, then worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Nipawin, Saskatchewan and Fernie, BC. Robert has a degree in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba and a diploma in LSJF – Long Suffering Jets’ Fan.
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