Manitoba producers made just minimal progress in the field this past week, with the harvest pace now falling behind average.
Tuesday’s crop report pegged the overall harvest in the province at 18% complete, up only 5 points on the week and 5 points behind the five-year average amid generally damp, rainy conditions. Over the previous couple of weeks, the harvest had been running right about on par with the average.
Harvest progress remains the most advanced in the Central Region, where 31% of the crop was off, compared to 22% a week earlier. The Interlake harvest gained 7 points on the week to 19% done, while the Eastern was up 5 points at 15% complete. The Southwest harvest climbed just 3 points to 11% done, and the Northwest was up 5 points to 9%.
Harvest continues in spring cereal crops, with barley at 38% complete, oats at 31% complete and spring wheat at 32% complete. Overall, cereal crops remain in fair to mostly good condition.
The pea harvest is now estimated at 85% complete, with canola at 5%. Early pea yield reports in the Southwest and Central regions are in the 45 to 55 bu/acre range and 60 to 70 bu/ac range in the Northwest region. Canola crops range from very late pod fill with straw, pod and seed colour change to swathing/pre-harvest application ready to harvest ready.
Dry bean harvest has begun with about 7% of the acres reported harvested. Yields and quality are variable and dependent on summer rainfall. Drier regions of the Central region are reporting small seed size and yields in the range of 1400 lbs/acre. Areas that received timely rainfall throughout the summer are seeing yields close to 2000 lbs/acre.
Corn is mainly in the R4 to R5 growth stages, while soybean fields are mostly in the R6 to R7 growth stages with reports in the Central region of soybean showing stress symptoms due to lack of moisture. Premature ripening has occurred in these fields, the report said.
Small amounts of precipitation were received across Manitoba croplands Aug. 21 - 27 with values ranging from a trace to about 33 mm. However, storms last week brought heavy rain and hail to isolated areas. The Dugald station reported 28.8 mm of rain in one hour on Aug. 24. Most of the precipitation in the past week was seen in the Northwest, Interlake and Eastern regions.
Southwest:
A slow week of harvest as rains and foggy cool weather kept producers out of the field until later in the week and weekend. Producers continued with pre-harvest on cereals and have started on the canola crop. Some swathing still happening as producers try to work with uneven crop maturity. Harvest continued towards the end of the week with producers still working on peas and cereal harvest. Producers are starting to see a quality difference as mature crops showed some weathering in the sample. In general, crops look average with average yields and good quality. Areas west of 83 highway from Miniota to Reston and through to Pierson are reporting below average yields because of the dry conditions.
Northwest:
A slower start to the week with cooler, wet weather setting in and clearing up for a couple of days and then rain again. Frequent rains, high humidity and heavy dews all contributed to the slow week of harvest progress and crop maturity. Precipitation amounts varied with Rorketon station receiving highest amount at 27 mm and The Pas the lowest amount at 3.1 mm. Although localized amounts brought more precipitation than was reported, in some areas upwards to 50 mm fell in Swan Valley and Roblin. Hail was reported in the Swan Valley area, damage unknown at this time.
Central:
Harvest was delayed this week due to intermittent and sometimes heavy rainfall. Snowflake (27 mm) and Clearwater (26 mm) received the most. A storm with high winds and hail around Graysville resulted in some lodging and crop damage. However, some regions particularly around Portage, St Claude and Treherne received very little rainfall. Most areas have had notable dew and fog in the mornings. Harvest will resume as warmer and weather returns.
Eastern:
Rainfall accumulations ranged from trace to greater than 30 mm. All areas received some rainfall during the middle of last week with the greatest amounts occurring as part of severe weather in some Northern districts. In areas east and Northeast of Winnipeg (Selkirk and Dugald areas), severe thunderstorms occurred last Thursday evening that included heavy downpours, 90 to 100 km/hr winds (133 km/hr in Dugald) and hail that caused extensive damage to some crops. In areas of the region that experienced less rainfall and an absence of thunderstorms, harvesting and field work were able to proceed as planned. However, in some northern districts that received greater amounts of precipitation and/or experienced storms, harvest and fieldwork progress slowed significantly. Producers look toward making good progress on spring cereal harvest and accompanying field work this week if the weather allows.
Interlake:
Interlake region received a welcoming amount of rainfall this past week along with a hailstorm. However, precipitation continues to be variable with scattered thundershowers with minimal amount of rainfall in some areas of the Interlake region. The St. Andrew’s area received about 50 mm of rain last week, with hail damage to crops. The Teulon area received about 20 mm of rain with minor hail damage to crops but producers reporting crop lodging of standing cereals. The Northern part of the Interlake received about 25 mm of rainfall with no hail damage to crops.
