August 25, 2009

Farmers in Manitoba made some harvest progress during the past week, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives said in a crop update released Monday (August 24).

However, many crops are still late and will need a prolonged period of warm, dry weather in order to reach maturity.

The winter wheat harvest moved slowly forward in southwestern Manitoba during the week, with average yields and good quality reported. The bulk of the fall rye harvest was finished in the region, with good quality and slightly better than average yields. The pea harvest was also progressing. Barley fields were starting to see some harvest activity, while other cereals were ready to be desiccated or swathed. Canola in southwestern Manitoba was starting to be swathed in some areas. Sunflowers and corn in the region will both need several more weeks of warm, frost-free weather, according to the report.

Northwest Manitoba saw some pre-harvest applications of desiccants on advanced cereal crops during the week, and the odd canola field was being swathed, said the report. However, most cereal and oilseed crops in the region will require more warm weather to advance to maturity, said the report.

Central Manitoba saw precipitation of 15 to 90 millimetres during the week, with some of the storm systems also causing hail damage in localized areas. The winter wheat harvest was progressing in the region, with yields averaging 70 bushels per acre. Barley swathing was just getting started, although a few fields had been harvested with early yield reports averaging 90 bushels per acre.

Oats and spring wheat were just starting to be harvested in the region, while some swathing had started on canola. Corn was in the filling stage, sunflowers were blooming, soy was forming pods, and flaxseed was close to finished flowering, said the report. Uneven crop maturity will likely cause some harvest problems in the region.

Rainfall ranged from 15 to 44 millimetres in eastern Manitoba during the week, while heat accumulation remained below normal. The weather conditions were said to be delaying field operations. Winter wheat was being harvested in the region during the week. Barley was also starting to be harvested, with yields reported at 80 to 90 bushels per acre. Wheat and oats were in the soft dough stage, and pre-harvest herbicide applications were taking place. Canola fields were being swathed in eastern Manitoba. Soy were in the seed filling stage in some fields, flax was also pod filling, while sunflowers were in the R5.3 to R5.5 stage.

Rainfall amounts of up to 70 millimetres in the Interlake during the week stopped harvest operations for hay, forage seed and winter wheat, said the report. However, some winter wheat acres were being straight combined. Yields ranged from 65 to 70 bushels per acre, with sprouting causing downgrading in some samples. There were reports of sclerotinia in many canola fields, and white mould in some soy fields. Crops in the region will need warm, dry weather to reach maturity, according to the report.