Manitoba farmers seeded their largest dry edible bean crop in more than a decade this spring, but adverse harvest conditions are now causing delays in getting it off the fields.
Areas of the Red River Valley saw up to 4.5 inches of rain late last week and into the weekend, further slowing the harvest.
The Manitoba edible bean harvest was only an estimated 6% complete as of Sept. 17, well behind the three-year average of 62%. However, fieldwork ahead of the weekend rains likely brought the harvest up to 30 to 40% done, according to provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange.
While the extent of any damage remains to be seen, Lange said the moisture might lead to deterioration and discolouration on any crops that were swathed and lying on the ground. However, more growers are straight cutting than in the past, potentially minimizing damage. Additionally, growers likely focused on harvesting kidney and cranberry beans ahead of the rains, as those crops could be more susceptible to downgrades, he said.
“It’s a lot of rain, but many areas were pretty dry,” Lange said, noting there was very little standing water in the previously dry areas after the precipitation.
Manitoba farmers seeded 163,700 acres of edible beans in 2019, with roughly a quarter of the area planted to Navy beans and the remainder to coloured beans. Total production of all types of beans in the province is forecast at 152,500 tonnes by Statistics Canada -potentially the largest crop in the province since 2006.
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