Manitoba Crop Report

May 19, 2021

This week's crop report lists total seeding progress in Manitoba at 76 per cent complete, on par with the four year average.

Warmer conditions towards the end of last week have spurred seeding of more frost-sensitive crops, with large numbers of canola and soybean crops planted.

Lack of rainfall has many farmers concerned for germination and timely emergence, since seedbed conditions are rapidly drying. Dry topsoil has drifted in some locales, filling in seed row furrows or moving off edges of fields.

Extremely windy and dusty conditions have implications for herbicide efficacy and on-target application.

Hay and pasture growth continues to be delayed, usually attributed to ongoing overnight frosts from early last week. Lack of moisture for new growth is of increasing concern.

Soil moisture maps continue to show much of Manitoba farmland in the broad “optimal” range, based on volumetric moisture content, as a function of the soil texture. Seedbed soil moisture is dry to very dry in all of agro-Manitoba, and may be higher at depths.

The Canadian Drought Monitor has classified much of agro-Manitoba in a severe to extreme drought, as of April 30, 2021.

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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.