By Rod Nickel
STRATHMORE, Alberta, July 21 (Reuters) - Spring wheat crops
in southeastern Alberta looked short and thin, showing more
damage from hot, dry weather than expected by scouts on a crop
tour Tuesday.
Parts of Canada, the world's biggest canola exporter and a
major wheat shipper, have suffered the driest conditions in
decades, shriveling crops.
A tour organized by CWB Market Research Services, formerly
the Canadian Wheat Board, includes 20 scouts traveling three
routes across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba from Tuesday
through Thursday.
Most canola seen in southeastern Alberta was late flowering
- the critical stage for determining yield - with plants
producing fewer branches than usual. With recent rain and
current ideal warm weather, canola crops in the area can improve
but will not fully recover, said Justin Daniels, CWB's director
of commodity risk management.
Most wheat and canola fields looked likely to produce
below-average yields, he said.
Canola crops are normally as high as six feet (1.83 m), but
many in the region stand less than half that tall this year,
pointing to fewer branches per plant of seed-bearing pods.
Canola seeds are crushed mainly to produce vegetable oil.
Spring wheat plants, while short, look deceptively decent
from a distance.
"Lots of the crop we're passing look pretty good (from the
road). But when you get into the field, you see the smaller
heads," Daniels said.
Some wheat fields appeared healthier heading south toward
Lethbridge, Alberta, but Daniels said they may reflect the
benefits of scattered showers rather than a trend.
Courtney Boryski, a wheat and durum trader for U.S.
commodities company Gavilon, traveled from Nebraska to join the
tour, given Canada's importance in global wheat trade.
"So far the crops have been disappointing," she said.
Even if canola receives favorable weather as it flowers and
sets pods, its late development leaves it prone to late-season
damage from frost, Daniels said.
Further east, scouts in Manitoba saw mostly disease-free
wheat and canola developing nicely, said Chris Birk, who was
leading the tour for CWB in that province.
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada said on Tuesday that
all-wheat and canola production looked to fall 7 and 8 percent
to 27.1 million tonnes and 14.3 million, respectively.
On Friday, CWB will estimate yields of canola, spring wheat
and durum based on tour results.
(Editing by Ken Wills)