Early Seeding Favours Higher Yields, But Does Not Guarantee Them

Apr 13, 2020

There are many factors that determine how well a crop yields.

Manitoba Agriculture & Resource Development Cereal Specialist Anne Kirk commented on the importance of seeding a crop on time.

"By the fourth week of May, we do see that yield potential has dropped to below 80 per cent of average for spring wheat, barley, corn, field peas, sunflowers," she said. "Oats, canola and soybeans, according to MASC data, remain above 85 per cent of average yield potential. Seeding in the second/third week of May you might not see that much of a drop in yield potential for a lot of crops but seeding at the beginning of June, you'd obviously see some bigger drops depending on the crop."

Kirk says its important to let the field dry up before starting spring field operations.

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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.