One month after beginning, the harvest of grain corn in the Central and Eastern districts of southern Manitoba, it continues with many delays due to wet fields, to clean combines, free stuck machinery or to allow time for drying.
Warm weather and rainfall in September helped the corn crop with grain fill, which tentatively results in high yields and good bushel weights. Maturity occurs when kernel moisture is at approximately 30 percent.
With the late maturation of corn in Manitoba in 2008, the grain dry down rate was slower than in normal years.
But harvesting of the crop, grown on many thousands of acres this season, got underway tentatively at first, in the third week of October, and a farm production advisor, John McGregor in Steinbach reported some early yields of 120-140 bushels an acre.
Here in the Central area, on November 18, farm production advisor Brian Jack estimates about 40 percent of the corn is still left to harvest. Farmers had some problems and delays with the corn harvest after rains and snow a couple of weeks ago.
However, adds Jack, they began harvesting again after warm weather melted the snow, but the ground is wet and there have been some problems with getting stuck. However, with freezing temperatures, they’re back to harvesting again.
In Morris, farm production advisor Ingrid Kristjanson says, “Almost all sunflowers are off. Corn is still in the field, harvest progress has been subject to dryer capability and high moisture content of corn has greatly increased drying time.
“I’m not aware of any corn below 20 percent moisture, but there’s an improvement from the high 20s and low 30s of some of the earlier harvested crop. Some of the higher heat unit varieties are a bit lighter in test weight, but quality is generally okay and yields are good ranging from 100-110 bushels an acre, and up to 140 bushels an acre.”
Most fields are firm enough and farmers can go on frost. They had to wait for cold temps as the snow was causing problems with sticking. Although some combines are going in the day, many wait until night for colder temps and easier conditions, adds Kristjanson.
The yields are good at around 120 bushels an acre and that helps farmers deal with the harvesting problems, concludes Jack.
Farm production advisor Peter W. Petrash, in Vita, says corn is being harvested now and it’s about 75 percent completed. Fields are frozen enough for the combines to travel but some producers are still waiting for the corn to dry down some more.
“Producers are moving along and if the weather remains good, most producers will be done next week,” said Petrash on November 18. In Steinbach, farm production advisor John McGregor says at this point completing the harvest will vary on field location. Some corn has come off over the past couple of weeks as producers navigate around the wet areas.
Apparently corn is moving into a variety of markets, some top quality corn is going to Gimli for distilling, other corn to Minnedosa for ethanol production, to markets for human consumption and of course as animal feed.
While open market corn prices too have generally fallen, they’re still slightly higher than they were at the same time last year.
Statistics Canada has projected corn for grain production in Manitoba in 2008 at 444.5 thousand tonnes, down 9.9 percent from one year ago in its October estimates.
