Seeding across Manitoba continues to trail both last year and the five-year average after a week of rain, strong winds and cooler temperatures disrupted fieldwork, according to the latest provincial crop report released May 20.
Provincial oilseed specialist Sonia Wilson says the latest report shows uneven weather conditions across the province, with some regions seeing heavy precipitation and others dealing with damaging winds.
Weather impacts across the province
Wilson says rainfall varied significantly depending on location.
“We had the highest in the Interlake and Northwest regions. It actually had quite a range from 3 to 26 millimeters, with the most being seen at Minitonas, with about 26 mm,” Wilson notes.
She adds that wind events in the southwest caused additional disruptions to fieldwork.
“We had quite a few high wind events especially in the southwest region reaching up to 120 kilometers an hour especially on the Thursday and Friday before the weekend, so there was a lot of progress in seeding over the past week but then over the weekend with some of the wind as well as the rain there was a bit of a slowdown depending on the region,” Wilson says.
Seeding still behind average
Wilson says overall progress remains below seasonal benchmarks.
“We're sitting at about 37% seeded. Last year, and this is for all crops, we were at 57 per cent, but the five-year average is 43 per cent. We're sitting just below that,” Wilson adds.
She notes early seeding has focused on spring wheat and corn, with oilseeds and other crops beginning to go in across parts of the province.
Crop conditions and early growth
Wilson says cooler temperatures have slowed early crop development, raising some concern about germination and early growth.
“In terms of what's been seeded, mainly spring wheat has gone in, as well as some corn has gone in. There is some concern around chilling with the colder temperatures that we had here,” Wilson continues.
She says oilseed crops such as canola, sunflowers and flax are starting to go in, but warmer weather will be needed for strong development.
Winter cereals and livestock water
Wilson says winter cereals are generally in good condition.
“We haven't had any major reports of winter kill, but there is some slower growth just because we've had some of these cooler temperatures,” Wilson remarks.
She also says livestock water supplies remain stable across the province.
“We are seeing that the dugouts and livestock water supplies are looking in good condition. We've had water availability reported as quite good across the region,” Wilson mentions.
Wind damage and reseeding concerns
Strong winds have also caused localized damage, including soil movement and field impacts that may require cleanup or reseeding in some areas.
Wilson says some shallow-seeded crops, particularly early canola, may need to be checked for damage.
“At this point, I'm not sure for reseeding; maybe some of the smaller, shallower-seeded crops, like if canola had gone in early, I think there will definitely be some checking for sure,” Wilson says.
She adds that potato fields have also seen damage in some areas, including erosion of hilling and filled ditches requiring attention.
“We're just looking forward to warmer temperatures. When we get those, I think we're going to have a real push here in the next week,” Wilson adds.
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