Variability was the name of the game as spring wheat harvest began in the third week of August.
“This is the most variable I can remember,” said Clayton Harder.
He has fields around the north side of Winnipeg and said he has soybeans that are ankle high and others that are waist high. One field is waist high at one end and ankle high at the other because one end got rain and the other did not.
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When he spoke to the Co-operator on Aug. 15, Harder said he hoped to begin harvesting wheat by the weekend. He expected wheat fields west of Winnipeg to yield about average, with fields east of the city possibly reaching above-average levels.
Curtis McRae, who farms near St. Andrews, said he started harvesting wheat Aug. 15. Overall, crops were looking “about like expected — not good,” he said.
Wheat was yielding 15 to 20 per cent below average, McRae said, which was better than expected. He anticipates lower protein levels.
At Ste. Rose du Lac, Robert Brunel said he was about one-third through spring wheat harvest as of Aug. 15. Yields were below average, with a few fields “kind of average,” he said.
“Any fields that caught extra rains, you notice in the yields right away.”
In its Aug. 15 crop report, Manitoba Agriculture said harvest had started in early-seeded spring wheat, particularly in the central region. The crop was rated mostly fair to good, with the southwest rated mostly fair to good with 10 per cent poor; the northwest mostly good with 10 per cent excellent; the central region mainly good and fair-rated with 10 per cent poor, and the eastern region largely rated good with 20 per cent fair.
Pre-harvest applications and swathing had started on the earliest seeded canola, the province reported.
McRae said canola might be his “golden child,” adding that he still didn’t expect a bumper crop. Brunel also said his canola looked good, though a recent two-week stretch without rain had likely reduced yields.
Across the province, soybeans ranged from the R5 (beginning seed) to R6 (full seed) stages, the province said. Rains over the week prior would help pod fill, the crop report said, and overall conditions were good.
“This last bit of rain will definitely help their yield potential,” said Brunel, who said he’d received an inch of rain over the weekend.
McRae said he’d like another inch of rain to fill out his soybeans.
Field pea harvest continued on Aug. 15, with about 22 per cent of the crop brought in. Early yield reports from the southwest and central regions showed yields in the 45 to 55 bushels per acre range, with most of the remaining crop in good condition. Drier fields were rated fair and showed lower yield potential.
Dairy producers reported a below-average second cut of hay and slow regrowth for the third cut. Beef producers had largely completed first cut, with a second cut starting in some areas, the provincial crop report said. Second cuts were reported below average but variable.
Recent rainfall greened up pastures in some areas. There is also early weaning in drier areas due to lack of grass.
