Manitoba producers planted approximately 1 million soybean acres this year
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Even though soybean producers in Manitoba faced a wet spring, crops are on target for this time of year.
Soybean acres are down from the 1.4 million acres planted in 2019 to 1 million acres this year but, so far, 2020 is going better than last year, said Dennis Lange. He is the provincial pulse specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.
“One thing that's different this year … is we've had more rainfall in July. That's really going to help with yield,” he told Farms.com.
Across the province, soybeans are in the R3 to R4 growth stage. So, the crop is right where it should be for this time of year, despite getting into the ground later, said Lange.
Growers planted “pretty much all the soybeans” in the latter part of May, rather than mid May, he said. “It took a little while to get (the crop) established because we had cooler temperatures, and soybeans like warm conditions. So, things were a little bit slower off the start. Once the beans got off the ground, we had good rainfall and some heat. They've really moved along now,” said Lange.
Pests for producers to watch for this time of year are soybean aphids, but they haven’t posed a big problem for several years in Manitoba. Producers should still monitor their crops for this risk, though, said Lange.
A few rain showers, as well as avoiding an early frost and major moisture during harvest, are key to a strong finish to the season, said Lange.
“Having excess moisture at harvest time really played havoc with the harvest last year,” he said. Growers combined a lot of beans at the end of October and in November last year.
“So far this year, everything looks good. We'll just have to hope that everything holds out weather-wise.”
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