Lack Of Rain Impacting Winter Cereals

Some of the province's winter cereal crops are suffering.

 

That from Dane Froese, Industry Development Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.

 

"They did not get enough moisture earlier on into September to begin that germination process, particularly in that central region where that moisture is needed and necessary to get those crops germinated and up to about the three/four leaf stage before they freeze and go into dormancy and overwintering," he commented. "Now, we didn't have that growth happen by the time that first frost and solid freeze started to occur. The crop might suffer."

 

Meanwhile, Froese says some farmers are continuing to apply fall fertilizer. Soils have a little bit more moisture due to recent rains and snow, which makes the ground a little more workable. He notes producers are still trying to get as much fertilizer in this fall in order to prepare ahead of time for next spring.

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.