Manitoba Harvest Gains Ground

Manitoba producers continued to make up more harvest ground this past week. 

The weekly crop report on Tuesday pegged the provincewide harvest at 79% complete, up from 63% a week earlier although still about two weeks behind the five-year average of 89%. Last week, the harvest was running as much as three weeks behind normal. 

As with spring seeding, harvest progress varies widely by farm and region, depending on seeding date and growing season weather conditions, the report said, adding many farms have completed harvest, while some have just started. 

Better drying weather in recent days has allowed cereal harvest to finally wrap up. Some wheat crops harvested after the rains have been downgraded to No. 3 CWRS as a result of mildew and sprouting, while most remains a No. 2 CWRS. Wheat yields range from 60 to 90 bu/acre in the Northwest, with late-seeded crops yielding less. In oats, growers are making the decision to swath late fields and are dealing with increased shelling losses. Oats lying in swath for several weeks have stained, some sprouting is occurring, but grain remains marketable.