Overview
Harvest progress sits at 3 per cent complete across the province (table above), which is on-par with the 5-year average harvest progress. Winter wheat and fall rye harvest continues, with 67 per cent of acres harvested. Early yield reports for winter wheat are averaging about 60 bu/acre. Harvest has started in spring cereal crops, with the majority of harvest happening in the central region. Overall, cereal crops remain in fair to mostly good condition.
Corn is mostly in the R3 to R4 growth stages, with the most advanced crops at R5. Canola is mostly in the pod fill stage, with some fields starting to turn, and desiccation and swathing starting on a limited number of acres. Field pea harvest continues, with approximately 22 per cent of acres harvested.
Read Also
Farmer-friendly nematodes: Tiny worms for big canola pest control
Not all nematodes are equal in farm fields. Beneficial species of the tiny soil-dwelling worms could one day help beat back damaging canola insect pests like diamondback moth on the Canadian Prairies.
Soybean fields are mostly in the R5 to R6 growth stages. Rainfall over the past week has helped to alleviate stress in the corn, soybean, and dry bean crops associated with a lack of rainfall.
Producers are encouraged to scout their fields for weeds which have escaped control. This is an important part of integrated pest management. Waterhemp has been found in the Central and Eastern regions and producers should seek identification of any unusual pigweed in their field.
Cereals
Harvest of winter wheat and fall rye continued with about 67 per cent of acres combined. Yield reports are early at this stage, with winter wheat yields reported from 50 to 65 bu/acre and fall rye yields in the 60 to 90 bu/acre range.
Spring cereal crops are mostly in the hard dough stage, with pre-harvest desiccation and swathing starting. Harvest has started in early seeded spring wheat fields, with the majority of the spring cereal harvest taking place in the central region at this point.
Corn fields ranged from the R2 (blister) to the R4 (dough) stages, with the most advanced fields at early R5 (dent).
The spring wheat crop is rated mostly fair to good, no change from the previous week.
Oilseeds
The majority of the canola crop is in the early to late pod fill stage, with colour change noted on earlier seeded canola. Swathing and pre-harvest applications have started on the earliest seeded fields.
Sunflower fields ranged from R5.5 (flowering) to R6 (flowering completed and ray flowers drying down) growth stages. Plants in the R7 (back of head starting to turn pale yellow) stage are being found in some fields.
Flax is in the boll fill stage, with some early seeded crops starting to turn.
Pulses and soybeans
Field pea harvest continues in most parts of the province, with approximately 22 per cent of harvest completed. Early yield reports in the Southwest and Central regions are in the 45 to 55 bu/acre range.
Crop desiccation is ongoing. The majority of the crop remained in good condition, but in drier areas fields are in fair condition and demonstrating lower yield potential.
Soybeans range from the R5 (beginning seed) to R6 (full seed) stage. Rains over the past week will help with pod fill. Overall crop condition remains good.
Forages and livestock
Forages
Dairy producers have completed second cut, yields are reported as below average. Regrowth for a third cut has been slow.
Beef producers have largely completed first cut, with second cut starting in some areas. Second cut yields are reported as below average due to low rainfall, but are variable.
Slough and wild hay is being cut, with average yields.
Corn silage fields benefited from the recent rainfall.
Greenfeed and cereal silage harvest is mostly complete with the exception of later seeded fields.
With very little regrowth on second cut hay fields, beef producers need to be mindful that it is August 15th, the beginning of the critical harvest fall period. (Link: critical harvest fall period for alfalfa).
Livestock
Pastures are greening up in some areas as a result of recent rainfall, and grazing sites will be in a better position to sustain herds. Drier pastures are browning off and will have minimal regrowth even with recent rain. Pasture conditions range from poor to sufficient growth for grazing. Feeding on pasture is occurring in the drier areas, and some early weaning is happening due to lack of grass.
Killarney Auction Mart has added an early sale (August 21) due to the request from producers to move cull cows, yearlings, and calves earlier than normal.
Pasture water supply ranges from low to adequate, depending on region and rainfall.
High populations of flies are resulting in elevated issues with pink eye in cattle.
Sourcing straw is a concern due to cereals being short and grain producers not being as willing to drop
straw.
Regional comments
Southwest
A welcome rain over the week to most of the Southwest will help crop fill and was very important for the soybean crop as well as pasture land and second cut for hay crops. Harvest in most areas had stopped due to the rainfall. As the fields dry, producers will be back in the field continuing pea, winter wheat and fall rye harvest and pre harvest applications for cereal crops. In general, crops look average but the recent rain will help early crops fill and later seeded crops progress.
Fall rye and winter wheat harvest is pretty general in the southern portion of the region and yields look to be average with good quality. Some reports of ergot showing up in fall rye.
Pea crops are being desiccated and spraying will be completed this week. Harvest has begun in most areas. Rain might make harvest a little more difficult with the wetter ground. Pea crops look to be an average yield around 45 to 50 bu/acre and good quality.
Some harvest of early seeded wheat fields began last week before the rains. Most wheat crops are in the firm to hard dough stage. Desiccation of wheat will begin this week once conditions are dry enough to travel.
Barley fields continue to ripen and rain may help increase test weight. Swathing of barley may start this week to help bring on harvest.
Oat crops are in the soft dough stage and continue to ripen. Some early seeded fields and those that ran out of moisture may be swathed by the end of the week.
Most of the canola crops are in pod fill stage with some crops starting to turn. No major insect or disease issues showing up.
Soybeans are at the R5 to R6 stage. Recent rain will help pod fill. Some late weed growth in areas where the stands are thin especially volunteer canola. Most corn is in the R2 (blister) to R3 (milk) stage. The corn crop has managed the dry conditions well, good height reported in many fields. Sunflowers in the R5 stage. Flax crops are in the boll fill stage with some early seeded crops starting to turn mainly because of lack of moisture.
Northwest
A warm start to the week and then a change to cool, wet weather up until the weekend. Rain set in mid-week and a couple of days of scattered showers brought varied precipitation amounts. Dauphin weather station receiving the most at 49 mm and Swan River the least at 5 mm, with some heavier localized amounts near Roblin. Alonsa had the highest daytime temperature last week at 27.7 C while Rorketon had the coolest over night temperature at 3.4 C. Although the rain was welcome across the region due to recent dry conditions, it also posed a slight delay in pre-harvest applications and some harvest operations.
Fall rye and winter wheat harvest began over the weekend in most of the region. Harvest in the Dauphin and Swan Valley area is approximately 90 per cent complete. Perennial ryegrass harvest also began last week and is mostly complete. Yields are unknown at this time.
Spring cereals are mostly in the hard dough stage, with some later seeded fields in the soft dough stage. Pre-harvest applications have been ongoing as stages are reached. Dependant on weather conditions, harvest may begin this week.
Most of the canola across the region is podded and maturing. Approximately 10 to 15 per cent of the canola remains flowering but should wrap up shortly. Upper pods on plants are small, this may affect yield in some crops. Some sunscald is appearing with recent high temperatures. Aster yellow symptoms are very noticeable in some fields. Flea beetle pressure has been heavy in the last week and tops of plants are found covered in flea beetles. Lygus and some bertha armyworm has been reported in canola.
Field peas are in the R6 to R7 stages. Field pea harvest is continuing as crops reach maturity, with a pause last week due to rain. Desiccation continues in fields that have reached the appropriate stages. Initial reports of yield are lower than normal as first fields harvested are the ones that did not receive adequate moisture. Progress is approximately 5 per cent complete.
Soybeans are mostly at the R6 stage and advancing. Recent precipitation was welcomed last week for soybean fields.
Bertha armworm monitoring is done for the year. Trap counts remain low across the Northwest region. The highest counts are Durban and Minitonas at 146 and The Pas at 277. Both counts remain below threshold levels, however monitoring is always recommended. Grasshopper pressure continues, and is especially heavy in some areas across the region.
Central
The week was cooler with a number of showers passing through the central region. The amount of rain these showers brought varied greatly, with some locations such as Austin and Carman receiving 61 mm and 50 mm of rainfall, respectively. Most locations received closer to 20 to 30 mm of rainfall, with Gretna receiving the least with 10 mm. This moisture has been well received by corn, soybean, sunflower and edible bean producers. The rain delayed harvest for winter cereals, spring cereals and peas, and in some extreme cases of heavy rain, resulted in some lodging of cereals and flax.
Approximately 80 per cent of winter wheat and 75 per cent of fall rye has been harvested. It is expected that almost all remaining winter cereals will be harvested over the coming week. Fall rye yields have varied greatly depending on how much rainfall the crop received this year, with most yields in the region of 60 to 90 bushels per acre, but some yielding as low as 30 bushels per acre. Winter wheat yields are around 60 bushels per acre.
Harvest of spring wheat, barley and oats is underway, with most crops now at the hard dough stage. Approximately 10 per cent of spring wheat has been harvested, with yields varying from 35 to 65 bushels an acre, mostly depending on how much rainfall the crop received through the growing season. Approximately 2 per cent of the barley and oat crop have been harvested.
Corn is at R3 (milk) to R4 (dough) stages, with the most advanced fields at early R5 (dent). Fields are looking better than they were a week ago due to the recent rainfall.
Field peas continue to be quickly approaching harvest; with most fields now at R7 (full maturity), and a few still at R6. Approximately 25 per cent of the pea crop has been harvested, with most yields in the region of 45 to 55 bushels an acre.
Canola is undergoing pod fill and dry down. A small number of fields have been swathed. Flax bolls are filling rapidly, with most crops at 10 to 30 per cent brown boll. Most sunflowers are at the later flowering stages, mostly between R5.5 and R6.
Soybean are mostly between R5 (beginning seed) and R6 (full seed). Many soybean and dry beans have visibly improved in regards to moisture stress compared to a week ago thanks to recent rainfall.
Grasshoppers continue to be seen feeding on cereals, pasture, and some soybean and dry bean fields. In some cereal fields, grasshoppers have all but totally consumed cereal flag leaves. Producers are still finding aphids in cereals, but the period of concern is now mostly passed. Bertha armyworm and diamond back moth are present in many canola fields, although levels may not be economic for control. Flea beetles have also been observed feeding on canola pods.
Disease pressure remains relatively low this year due to the drier conditions. However, producers are reporting small numbers of ergot bodies and loose smut close to headlands. A few producers have noticed instances of fusarium head blight, but severity is low.
Many crops will likely receive a pre-harvest herbicide application, in part to help combat the high levels of weeds present in fields, especially pigweeds, kochia and lambs quarters. Producers are scouting their fields for waterhemp and/or palmer amaranth, and for the most part are investigating any unusual weeds, especially those that have escaped control measures.
Eastern
Rainfall accumulations ranged from less than 5 mm to as much as 37 mm. Most areas received the bulk of their rainfall on Thursday and Friday last week in events that ranged from drizzle all the way to thunderstorms with heavy downpours. The rain limited progress on harvesting, swathing, pre-harvest applications and with the dry down of cereals and field peas. Day and night time temperatures remained below seasonal only starting to move towards seasonal ranges on the weekend. In spite of operational delays, most producers viewed the additional rainfall as supportive of yield in canola, soybeans, sunflowers and corn. Producers look to make progress on swathing, pre-harvest applications and cereal and field pea harvesting this week, if the weather is supportive.
Harvesting of winter wheat and fall rye continued at the start of last week until rainfall occurred with about 70 and 50 per cent of acres harvested, respectively. Harvest completion in the coming week is anticipated if weather is conducive. Yield reports on winter wheat continued to average around 65 bu/acre.
Spring cereal crops were somewhere in the intermediate to hard dough stage. Until weather halted progress, application of pre-harvest herbicides and swathing was ongoing with about 30 per cent of acres completed. Operations will continue this week if weather allows. Some harvesting of very early seeded crop could also occur by the end of this week if weather is supportive. Overall, cereal crops remain in fair to mostly good condition.
Most corn fields were in the R3 (milk) growth stage. The crop remained in good to excellent condition. Disease and insect scouting continued.
Sunflower fields were in the R6 (flowering completed and ray flowers drying down) growth stage with some plants in the R7 (back of the head starting to turn pale yellow) growth stage being found in fields. The crop remained in good to excellent condition. Scouting for insects continued.
Canola crops in the region ranged from mid to late pod fill with significant straw and pod colour change noted on the early seeded crop. Some very early seeded fields had been swathed. Swathing or application of pre-harvest/desiccation herbicides on very early seeded fields will continue later this week, if weather allows. Overall crop condition ranged from fair to mostly good. Insect scouting continued and insecticide applications to control diamond back moth larvae and lygus bugs had occurred. Growers and agronomists continued to find that the severity of insect concerns varied greatly from field to field requiring detailed and timely scouting. Concerns around insects are expected to lessen in the coming days and weeks as the crop continues to advance.
Overall, flax crop growth stages ranged from mid stage 10 (green capsule) to mid stage 11 (brown capsule) with lots of variability being noted in fields. The crop was in fair to mostly good condition.
Most soybean fields were in the R6 (full seed) growth stage although a few fields in very late R5 (beginning seed) could still be found. Overall crop condition remained good on most fields with the exception of some later seeded crop. As the crop moved into the R6 growth stage and the numbers of soybean aphid predators significantly increased, agronomist and farmer concerns regarding soybean aphids lessened. The presence of white mould became obvious and was noted in some fields in the region last week.
With crop desiccation complete, field peas moved past the R7 (full maturity) growth stage and were ready to harvest last week but weather held back progress. Rapid progress on harvest is expected this week if weather allows. The majority of the crop remained in good condition but, in drier areas, fields are in fair condition and demonstrating lower yield potential.
Interlake
Harvest continues but with minimal delays following recent rains. Precipitation continues to be extremely variable with scattered thundershowers. Riverton received 68.9 mm of rain in the past week, and Gimli received 35.1 mm, but most of the region received less than 20 mm. Hail damage has been reported in the North Interlake areas of Steeprock, Vidir, and Riverton, but damage is variable across the region. Later maturing crops have benefited from the recent rainfall.
Winter wheat and fall rye harvest is about 90 and 80 per cent complete, respectively. Winter wheat yields reported to date are in the 50 to 65 bu/ac range. Fall rye yields reported to date range from 60 to 100 bu/acre.
Spring cereals are maturing rapidly, with pre-harvest applications and swathing ongoing. Harvest has just started in spring cereals, and should be widespread by next week if weather conditions are favourable.
Canola is in the pod fill stage in most fields, with late seeded and re-seeded canola still flowering and starting to pod. Reseeded canola is looking good in fields that have received adequate rainfall.
Soybeans have seen tremendous growth with heat and moisture. Most soybeans have advanced to the R5 to R6 stage; flowering continues with the majority of fields looking good with recent rain. Field pea harvest continues.
Sunflowers are at full bloom, ranging from R5.5 to R5.7. Corn is at the R4 to R5 growth stage.
Insect pressure is reported to be low. Insecticide applications are generally complete, as crops get closer to maturity and harvest. Grasshoppers are still a concern and are moving as crops are harvested, so monitoring continues. Minimal reports of soybean aphids.
