Grain Harvest: "Slow and Delayed"

Farmers may be having a difficult harvest with all the rain in the area.

 

Shawn Cabak is a livestock specialist with Manitoba Agriculture in Portage. He gives us an update on how crops are looking.

 

"Grain harvest has been slow and delayed in the last month due to the frequent rains, and there was limited harvest progress last week," says Cabak. "It's mostly later season crops that are remaining in the Portage area including corn, soybeans, field beans and potatoes. There is standing water on some of the heavier soils and low lying areas where rainfall was higher, and this will delay the return to harvest and fieldwork."

 

The Portage area received 150mm of rain in September. Cabak notes that's three times the normal amount of rain for this month.

 

"Going forward, our days are shorter and the weather is cooler, it's just not conducive for drying conditions," says Caback "We need wind, heat, and sun to help dry the soil and crops out."

 

Cabak notes that this year's harvest wasn't all that bad.

 

"We're fortunate that we had quite a bit of crop come off in August when we had hotter and drier conditions," says Cabak. "We had a lot of the cereals and oilseeds like wheat, barley, and canola combined then, and it came out in good condition. We had some really good yields where moisture was better."