Provincial weed survey underway

Manitoba Agriculture is wrapping up a major weed survey.

Crops being surveyed include wheat, canola, soybeans, field corn, barley and oats. Extra fields being looked at include pinto beans, field peas, and sunflowers.

Kim Brown-Livingston is the province's weed specialist.

"We've seen pretty clean crops, considering the year," she said. "I'm pleasantly surprised. I've got a couple of theories on that. A lot of our crops got seeded very late, but they actually came up really quickly and they grew very quickly. They had adequate moisture, obviously, and with enough heat they really got going and they kind of got up ahead of some of those weeds. I think that's part of it."

The Manitoba weed survey is completed in conjunction with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, with the last one done back in 2016. Surveys have also been completed in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

"It's been a really good survey so far," added Brown-Livingston. "We've had lots of help with our staff and our summer students and some people in the community that have been helping us out and we're really thankful for that. We're really thankful for the farmers that have allowed us onto their properties and into their fields and to let us take a look at the weeds. These surveys are really valuable, they've been ongoing for decades."

She says they'll come back to about 160 fields to gather weed seeds to look for herbicide resistance.

Close to 700 fields were sampled this year.