Manitoba Agriculture reports yield variability as the result of variable moisture has been the big story so far this harvest.
Dennis Lange, a pulse and soybean specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and editor of the provincial crop report, says harvest is now into full swing.
Provincially we’re about 13 percent complete so we’re still in the early stages yet, mostly in the winter wheat and fall rye. They’re probably the most advanced for harvest, averaging just right around 93 percent complete right now, so just finishing up the last few fields. Also too, we’ve gotten into the spring wheat harvest with the central region being the most advanced at about 45 percent complete and provincially we’re about 23 percent. When you look at the other spring cereals, such as barley and oats, they’re not too far behind. Barley is at about 26 percent complete across the province again with the central being most advanced and oats are around 21 percent complete with about 45 percent in the central region being most advanced.
A lot of that has to do with the drier conditions that the central region has experienced this past summer. Crops are coming off a little bit earlier than what some growers would have hoped for but soils vary. That’s probably the biggest word you’re going to hear this year is the variability in areas from areas where yields can be really good to just a few miles away where the yields can very poor on the cereals. A lot of that has to do with the moisture they’ve been receiving. I’ve been hearing some pretty good numbers.
On some of the spring wheats we’re seeing some 60-to-70-bushel yields on the high end but then we’re also see seeing some low-end yields as well, in that 20 to 30 range as well. Generally, the quality has been pretty good. Most of the spring wheat is rating fair to good. Protein levels are anywhere from 13.5 to higher so protein quality is good.
~ Dennis Lange, Manitoba Agriculture
Lange says harvest is in a holding pattern right now as growers wait for fields to dry out after a couple of days of rain.
