Manitoba Agriculture has released the first crop report of the season.
Provincial seeding progress sits at less than one per cent complete, behind the 5-year average of 21% for Week 18.
Extremely wet and cold conditions in April prevented soils from draining and drying ahead of planting.
A number of Central region locations received over 500% of normal precipitation for the month.
As a result, crop planting is delayed by at least two weeks behind ‘normal’ starting dates.
Heavy rainfall in the Central, Eastern, and Interlake regions and the Red River Basin has caused overland flooding, saturating low-lying fields and filling waterways.
Twenty-six rural municipalities and communities have declared local states of emergency over the preceding two weeks in order to fight floodwaters, which has led to infrastructure damage and road washouts.
Multiple highway closures are ongoing, impacting movement of agricultural commodities and inputs.
Farmers are extremely concerned about seeding delays, leading some farmers to switch planned corn or soybean acres into canola and spring wheat, while planned field pea acres may see a decline as well.
Approximately 4,000 acres of potatoes have been planted in the Carberry to Shilo area.
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