Glacier FarmMedia—The heavy rains, and snow in some places, that fell onto much of southern Manitoba last week may force farmers into making some tough decisions.
The second half of May has been one of the rainiest periods seen in Manitoba in a number of years. On May 24 and 25, upwards to 70 millimetres of precipitation were reported in most areas, causing seeding to become delayed in multiple locations.
“We’re trying to collect all the observations and anecdotes about how much of the crop (was seeded) before the rain. We’re in that diagnostic period here trying to figure out what just happened and where things might go from here,” said Daryl Domitruk, executive director of Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG).
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While he recognized the rains were much needed after consecutive years of drought, the amounts and the timeliness of the precipitation are causing headaches for farmers. Crop insurance seeding deadlines for soybeans and pulse crops, established by the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC), are in late May and early June.
Regular soybean seeding deadlines range from May 30 to June 8, depending on the area, with extended seeding periods up to June 13. For dry beans, planting deadlines are from June 6 to 10 with extended seeding periods up to June 15. The seeding deadline for field peas is June 15 with the extended seeding period ending on June 20.
As of May 20, field pea planting was 90 per cent complete, while soybean seeding was only 34 per cent finished, according to Manitoba’s weekly provincial crop report. There was no data available for dry beans, but Domitruk estimated about one-third of the crop was in the ground in southcentral Manitoba.
“(Growers) are watching their fields dry and watching the skies all at the same time,” he said. “If we can get favourable conditions between now and (June 4), we might make up a lot of acres.”
For more information on Manitoba crop insurance deadlines, visit: masc.mb.ca.
