June 4, 2004

 

 

Canada's Manitoba Farmers Pressed To Plant A Lot Of Soybeans Within Week

 

Barring rain, Canada's Manitoba farmers are expected to plant as many soybeans as possible in the upcoming week because they are running out of time to plant them, sources said.

 

A cool, wet May delayed seedings, and as a result, producers have only a few days to beat crop-insurance deadlines.

 

"If the weather is OK, a lot of guys will try to get it in," said Manitoba Agriculture pulse specialist Bruce Brolley.

 

He said he thinks producers will be ready to plant by Friday afternoon or early Saturday.

 

But "if there is rain, all bets are off," said Brolley.

 

Manitoba crop-insurance deadlines for soybeans were recently extended, with most of the province now having until June 4 to put the crop in the ground for full coverage. Extended coverage, at 80%, will be available until June 10. The deadlines are prolonged an additional six days in some southern regions, including parts of the Red River Valley.

 

A month ago, sources in the province were expecting up to 400,000 acres of soybeans to go into the ground this year, up from 225,000 acres in 2003. However, it has been an excessively wet spring, and farmers have had difficulty getting on the field. With more rains over the past weekend, sources now expect eventual soybean acreage to be closer to 200,000 acres or fewer.

 

Producers will try to put in as much as they can, said Brian Hunt of Manitoba Agriculture. He said a lot of the acreage is contracted and that some producers are having trouble getting out of those contracts. As a result, farmers can either buy out their contracts, deliver on those contracts by buying soybeans, or plant the crop themselves. In addition, some of the contracts are for identity preserved soybeans, which farmers would not be able to access to deliver on the contract.

 

There is already a noticeable drop in soybean acreage in the outlying areas, which are not covered by crop insurance, said Hunt. He said some people in more traditional soybean-growing areas have also returned their seed.

 

"It's not very often where we deal with a situation where the crop can't get in the ground," said Don Sissons, president of the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association.

 

He said seed dealers were now moving seed away from the questionable areas in the western parts of the province to make it available in the Red River Valley.

 

While some producers are already back on the fields in the lighter soils, it will still take a few more days for the heavy gumbo soils to dry out, said sources.

 

Modern equipment allows producers to cover a lot of acres in a short time. But sources said putting the beans in when the ground was still wet could backfire. If the ground is worked when it is wet and there is no more rain, the ground turns hard - making it a struggle for the beans to emerge, said Sissons.

 

Late planting increases the risk of damage from autumn frosts. However, the crop can sustain some frost and still do well, said Sissons.