Harvest 2026 is advancing unevenly on either side of Lloydminster, with Saskatchewan producers east of the city nearing completion while Alberta growers to the west remain well behind on canola and other crops, according to the latest provincial crop reports.
Saskatchewan side nearing the finish line
As of Oct. 12, harvest in Saskatchewan was 93 per cent complete provincewide, while the northwest region that includes areas just east of Lloydminster sat at 91 per cent, according to the provincial crop report.
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Canola remained further behind in that region, with 86 per cent harvested across the Glaslyn, Maidstone, Meadow Lake, Pierceland and St. Walburg areas. Winter wheat and fall rye were reported complete in those same areas.
Producers around Cut Knife and Macklin were further along, sitting at 97 per cent complete overall. Fall rye and winter wheat were finished in that area, and canola was 95 per cent off the field.
Recent precipitation slowed some fieldwork heading into the middle of October, including seven millimetres of rain recorded around Meadow Lake. The pace mirrors a season that has seen harvest progress ebb and flow with the weather, as tracked in earlier reports showing Sask. harvest picks up despite wet eastern fields and, more recently, Sask. harvest at 82 per cent as producers race the weather.
Producers who have finished harvest in the region are now turning to fertilizer application, harrowing and other preparations for winter, the crop report states.
Alberta growers west of Lloydminster still catching up
On the Alberta side, harvest in the northeast region — which covers areas just west of Lloydminster — was 71 per cent complete as of Oct. 6, according to the provincial crop report.
Spring wheat was 89 per cent harvested in the region and barley was nearly 87 per cent complete. Canola lagged well behind both crops, sitting at just under 47 per cent harvested.
Fall rye and winter wheat crops in the northeast Alberta region have been taken off, matching the pattern seen on the Saskatchewan side where those crops typically finish first.
What the gap means for the region
The split progress between the two provinces reflects differing weather windows and crop mixes on each side of the Border City, with Saskatchewan producers benefiting from a drier stretch that allowed fieldwork to advance faster than in northeast Alberta.
Canola remains the slowest crop to come off on both sides of the border, a trend consistent with earlier-season reporting that found Saskatchewan canola fields were among the last to be harvested even as other crops wrapped up ahead of schedule, as seen in coverage of the province’s harvest reaching the 63 per cent completion mark earlier this month.
Producers on both sides of the Lloydminster region are expected to continue monitoring weather conditions through the remainder of October as harvest wraps up.
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