The Manitoba harvest is now more than one-third complete with mostly dry conditions helping to speed progress.
Tuesday’s weekly crop report pegged the overall harvest of all crops in the province at 40% done, up from 26% a week earlier.
The harvest is the most advanced in the Central Region at 51% complete, followed by the Eastern Region at 47%, the Southwest at 38%, and the Interlake at 34%. Progress is least advanced in the Northwest at 25% complete.
The pea harvest is now reported at 98% done, with barley and oats at 76% and 73%, respectively. The spring wheat harvest is 68% done, and canola 30% complete.
Spring wheat yield estimates range from 60 to 90 bu/acre, with an average of 70 bu/acre in the Central and Eastern regions. In the north Interlake, spring wheat yields range from 25 to 55 bu/acre, and up to 70 bu/acre in the south Interlake. Oat yield estimates range from 80-180 bu/acre, with generally good bushel weights. Barley yields range from 90 to 115 bu/acre.
Canola harvest continues in most regions of the province. Swathing and pre-harvest applications are ongoing.
Field pea yield reports range from 30 to 65 bu/acre. Dry bean harvest has started with some dealers receiving the first loads of beans such as light red kidney, cranberry, black and pinto beans.
Southwest:
Good weather conditions with low humidity, above-normal temperatures, and some decent afternoon winds have allowed for a good stretch of harvest. Temperatures have ranged from 27.6°C to 33.6°C, with minimum overnight temperatures between 0.8°C and 6.9°C and daily averages around 16.5°C. These frost-free temperatures are helping crops complete their natural maturation.
Northwest:
A mix of weather this week still allowed for good harvest progress. Unsettled weather events did bring thunderstorms to parts of the region, including hail in the Swan Valley area. There was varying degrees of damage to some crops. Pipe Lake station received the most recorded precipitation at 16 mm, while the lowest recorded precipitation was Swan River station with just under 1 mm. Some areas along the western portion of the region received a light frost, with temperatures close to 0 but it wasn’t a killing frost. Swan Valley station was lowest recorded overnight temperature at 0.5 °C. High day time temperatures helped crops to move along over the weekend with The Pas station the highest at 32.6 °C. Some crops remain lodged from previous high winds and continue to be a challenge for harvest and may possibly affect quality with recent rains and heavy dew. Some post-harvest field operations are being done as time allows.
Central:
Regional highs were between 28 - 34 ºC, but nighttime lows were between 2 - 8 ºC. with most locations receiving less than 1 mm of precipitation. The most rainfall was in Plumas (5.5 mm), and Gladstone (3.9 mm) in the northwest of the region. These warm and dry conditions allowed for rapid advancement of field activities. Producers are busy applying pre-harvest herbicide, swathing, cutting, and harvesting. Harvest has been slower for some this year due to increased straw production due to moist conditions early in the year. Producers have also started other fall activities including bailing, harrowing, cultivating, ditching, and the planting of cover crops.
Eastern:
Rainfall in the Eastern region ranged from trace amounts to 3.5 mm. Day and nighttime temperatures ranged from seasonal to above seasonal during the week. The weather allowed producers to make steady progress on harvesting and field work. Approximately 85% of spring wheat, oats and barley acres have been harvested in the Eastern Region. Yield and quality reports for spring wheat showed an average yield of about 75 bu/acre and a wide range in protein levels from 10% to 15%. Yield and quality reports on oats suggested an average yield of 145 bu/acre with bushel weights ranging from 35 lbs to over 45 lbs. Barley yields on the limited acreage in the Eastern Region were ranging from less than 90 to about 110 bu/acre. Pre-harvest applications and/or swathing will continue this week with the latest seeded fields now quickly coming due for these operations.
Interlake:
Precipitation continues to be variable with minimal to no rainfall in some parts of the regions. Amounts this week ranged from trace for most, to a few areas receiving up to 10mm. Inwood and Petersfield saw the highest amount between 7.2 mm and 10.9 mm of rainfall in the region. Daytime high temperatures were in the high 20s, with average temperatures of 16.3°C. Harvest continues, with good progress in the past week with swathing and desiccation of crops.
