Crop Land ‘Deteriorating’ in Canada as Excess Rain Hinders Planting

May 19, 2022

Manitoba too wet to plant while Alberta struggles with drought
Planting woes come as weather, war threaten global output

Farmers in parts of Canada’s Prairies are struggling to get crops in the ground as heavy rains continue to wallop the eastern region in the latest threat to global grain supplies.

Virtually no seeding has been done in Manitoba as more than 90% of the crop land is suffering from excess moisture, said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Only 4% of the province’s crops have been sown as of May 17, lagging the five-year average of 50%. Farmers are scrambling to look for dry areas to plant as they swap acres of corn and soybeans for wheat and canola, which are crops that have shorter seasons, according to Manitoba’s agriculture ministry.

Another storm system is poised to dump more rain on the region this week.

“Conditions are deteriorating,” Hadwen said by phone. “It’s certainly not improving, which is a great concern.”

Meanwhile, drought is expanding in parts of Alberta, a major growing area for spring wheat, barley and durum, Hadwen said. In Saskatchewan, some areas are too wet for seeding while others are too dry for proper germination, according to the province’s agriculture ministry.

Canada is the top canola exporter and one of the world’s largest wheat exporters. The nation’s planting woes come as weather is also threatening to curb output in the European Union and the US, compounding shrinking production from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s vital breadbaskets.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.