Winter wheat and fall rye harvest now 90 per cent complete

Farmers are trying to work on the harvest in between the rain. 

This week's crop report shows Agro-Manitoba received variable amounts of precipitation over the past seven days. Precipitation for the past week ranged from 0.6 mm to 77.8 mm with areas of the Northwest and Southwest regions accumulating the largest amounts of precipitation. Minitonas (77.8 mm) received the most precipitation. Rain was reported in the Interlake, Northwest, and Southwest region over the last week.

Cereal Crop Specialist Anne Kirk says most areas have exceeded 100 percent of normal precipitation, with the Central region at 120 per cent more compared to their 30 year average.

"We are seeing in the top 0-36 centimetre zone of the soil most of the province has optimal or wet soil moisture conditions.   Northern areas of the eastern region are showing dry to very dry conditions, and then little areas throughout the province are showing those dry to very dry conditions." 

She notes the warm weather and rainfall has helped to improve forage growth and replenish root reserves for the winter.

Harvest operations continue in winter cereals, spring cereals and peas, with a limited number of canola fields being harvested mostly in the Central and Eastern regions.

"For the most part we're at about 90 per cent harvested for winter wheat and fall rye. For spring wheat we're at about 13 per cent harvested with about 25 per cent in the central region. Barley about 22 per cent with big portions harvested in the southwest and the central regions, and oats  about 6 per cent overall, field peas were just at about 60 per cent harvested and we've just started the canola harvest."

Farmers are reporting good quality for the most part with yields ranging from 40 to 90 bushels per acre for winter wheat, 80 to 110 for  fall rye. Spring wheat yields range from 60 to 90 bushels per acre with an average of 70 in the Central and Eastern region, 25 to 55 in the North Interlake and up to 70 in the South Interlake.

To hear Glenda-Lee's chat with Manitoba Crop Extension Specialist Anne Kirk click on the link below.