A dry winter made an abrupt turn, leaving seeding and spraying plagued with too much rain, but farmers also enjoyed good weather through much of harvest and an extended fall
Cattle corn graze near Brandon in January 2024. Photo:
Alexis Stockford
From a dry end to winter to an overly wet spring, high winds causing lodging and sandblasting, a massive solar storm and yet another turn back towards drier weather in the fall, 2024 was a roller coaster.
Less photographic were several labour disputes that threatened supply chains, as well as trade issues, including a Chinese anti-dumping investigation on Canadian canola and an incoming U.S. administration that has threatened significant tariffs in January 2025.
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A pileated woodpecker makes its mark on a dead tree in central Manitoba amid freshly fallen snow in November. PHOTO: ALEXIS STOCKFORDphoto: Alexis StockfordCorn in harvested in southeastern Manitoba in the second-last week of October. PHOTO: GERALYN WICHERSphoto: Geralyn WichersPotato’s are harvested in southwestern Manitoba near Stockton during a sunny day in early October. PHOTO: ALEXIS STOCKFORDphoto: Alexis StockfordWhile 2024 harvest weather was generally good, some heavy rain events still impacted harvest. Swaths poke out of standing water in a field near Randolph, Man. on Sept. 19. PHOTO: GERALYN WICHERSphoto: Geralyn WichersIt was silage harvest day near Deerwood Sept. 17. PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVESphoto: Jeannette GreavesHarvest dust flies near Rathwell Aug. 27. PHOTO: ALEXIS STOCKFORDphoto: Alexis StockfordWild turkeys forage in a field near Roseisle in mid-summer. PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVESphoto: Jeannette GreavesA spray plane drops its load on a potato field in central Manitoba July 26. Wet weather in the first half of the 2024 season had many farmers in Manitoba opting for aerial application. PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVESphoto: Jeannette GreavesStanding water floods a field near St. Leon during a wet first half of the growing season. PHOTO: ALEXIS STOCKFORDphoto: Alexis StockfordA truck disappears into a bank of dirt whipped up by strong winds near Altamont June 16. Parts of western Manitoba saw gusts over 100 km/h. PHOTO: ALEXIS STOCKFORDphoto: Alexis StockfordAttempts to run equipment during an extremely wet spray season this spring left many farmers fighting ruts. PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVESphoto: Jeannette GreavesThe results of a solar storm lit up the night sky in May 2024, but also played havoc with field GPS systems. PHOTO: ALEXIS STOCKFORDphoto: Alexis StockfordSpring fertilizer goes on the field near Roseisle in central Manitoba in May. PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVESphoto: Jeannette GreavesCalves bed down amid ample straw in spring while producers await pasture turnout. PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVESCanada geese crowd on the disappearing ice on Pelican Lake in April. PHOTO: JEANNETTE GREAVESphoto: Jeannette GreavesA field of standing corn is a tempting target for local deer northwest of Shoal Lake March 19, 2024. PHOTO: ALEXIS STOCKFORDphoto: Jeannette GreavesA horse is prepared for the ring at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon in late March 2024. PHOTO: ED WHITEphoto: Ed White
