The Manitoba government has released its seasonal summary for the 2024 growing season, with crop yields and quality across the province reported as generally good.
The provincewide harvest was pegged 95% complete as of Tuesday, up a couple of points from the previous week, with mainly just corn and sunflowers remaining to be combined. The corn and sunflower harvests are expected to continue for the next few weeks, with corn estimated at 55% complete and sunflowers around 40%.
Fall fertilizer application has been widespread, and the majority of fall field work has been completed, the report said.
Cereals:
• Winter wheat yields ranged from 60 to 90 bu/acre with fall rye yields ranging from 80 to110 bu/acre. Good quality for both crops. Manitoba 5-year average yield for winter wheat is 55 bu/acre and 60 bu/acre for fall rye. Planted acres of winter cereals appear comparable to other years with some regions reporting slight increases due to the open fall with good planting conditions.
• Spring wheat yields ranged from 60 to 95 bu/acre. Quality of spring wheat in all regions is good with protein levels in the 13.5 to 15% range. Average spring wheat yields across the province are in the 55 to 60 bushel range. Manitoba 5-year average yield for spring wheat is 60 bu/acre.
• Barley yields averaged between 80 to 120 bu/acre, with some exceptions. Quality was good. 5-year average yield for barley is 74 bu/acre
• Oat yields were overall good this year reporting 110-180 bu/acre. Test weights in oats ranged between 37 to 44 lbs/bushel. 5- year average yield for oats is 102 bu/acre.
• Corn yields ranged from 120 to 180 bu/acre with averages around 150 to 180 bu/acre. Harvest is currently at 55% complete with corn moisture ranging between 15 to 24%.
Oilseeds
• Canola yields were variable across the province ranging from 25 to 65 bu/acre. 5-year average yield for canola is 39 bu/acre. High moisture and humidity created conditions conducive to crop diseases in canola, where verticillium stripe was most prevalent, followed by sclerotinia and blackleg. A significant presence of verticillium stripe was evident this season in the Northwest. Majority of canola has graded at 1CAN with reports of dockage due to small/light seed.
• Average flax yields varied by region, but provincially averaged between 25 to 30 bu/acre. 5-year average yield for flax is 28 bu/acre.
• Oil sunflower yields are in the range of 1,200 to 2,000 lbs/acre. Current harvest progress at 39% complete.
Pulses and Soybeans
• Most regions reported average pea yields in 2024 ranging from 40 to 60 bu/acre. Provincially, yield is expected to be around 45 bu/acre which is below the 5-year average of 50 bu/acre. Good quality was reported. Fungicide application occurred on fields with dense crop canopy and rainfall increased disease pressure for Mycosphaerella blight (Ascochyta).
• Soybean yields have been very good this year ranging from 34 to 65 bu/acre. Provincial average is expected to be around 40 bu/acre. The 5-year average for soybeans is 35 bu/acre.
• Dry bean yields ranged from 500 to 3,000 lbs/acre. The provincial average for 2024 is expected to be slightly higher than the 5-year provincial average of 1,700 lbs per acre over all bean classes. Lower quality dry beans were reported in the Winkler region due to a September heavy rainfall event. The affected beans are still marketable.
The full season summary, including more detailed regional breakdowns, can be seen here:
https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/seasonal-reports/crop-report/pubs/seasonal-summary-2024-10-23.pdf
