Manitoba Agriculture reports that limited rainfall and warmer soil temperatures have allowed for rapid advancement in spring seeding over the past week in the province.
Sonia Wilson, an oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, says warmer temperatures and limited rainfall have allowed farmers to make excellent progress.
Over the past week we saw very little rainfall so most areas were able to access fields and we also saw warmer temperatures as well with winds that also helped with field access and lower temperatures at night so overall our seeding progress has moved forward quite rapidly. We’re sitting provincially at about eight percent complete where as our five-year average is about six percent at this time.
We’re seeing a lot of the spring wheat acres going in first so almost half of those are done in the east central and Interlake regions and other regions are progressing quickly as well. We saw, in terms of cereals, the start of oats and barley going in as well in most of the regions other than the northwest. In terms of oilseeds, sunflowers have started to be seeded in the central and Interlake and just seeing the start of some canola in the central region. In terms of the pulses, the field peas have been seeded and are pretty close to being finished in all regions and soybeans have started in the central, eastern and Interlake regions. In terms of soil temperature, we’re sitting at quite a higher soil temperature so all crops are moving forward quite quickly as well so we’re seeing corn get seeded as well.
That would be the order that we’re seeing moving forward.
~ Sonia Wilson, Manitoba Agriculture
Wilson says, given the upcoming forecast with high temperatures and below average rainfall, expectations are that seeding is going to be full speed ahead and will progress quickly in the week ahead.
