MANITOBA
SOUTHWEST
Wet conditions hurt development
Many crops are suffering from soggy conditions in the region. Crops are yellowing and showing signs of nutrient deficiency.
Crops broadcasted onto wet fields are beginning to establish.
Pasture is exceptionally wet, and standing water is hindering growth. Higher pasture land is in good condition.
Hay crops look promising, but wet conditions have forced producers to consider alternate harvest options, such as silage and round bale silage.
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CENTRAL
Weed control jeopardized
Producers are facing several problems when it comes to weeds. Fields are either too wet or covered with ruts. As well, advanced weeds are causing headaches on broadcast-seeded fields that weren’t tilled or burned off before seeding.
Volunteer canola is blooming and thriving in central Manitoba.
Producers have applied fungicide to treat winter wheat for fusarium in the eastern half of the region.
Pastures appear lush but many areas remain too soft for grazing.
NORTHWEST
Broadcasted canola doing well
Growers are beginning to seed green feed on unseeded cropland east of Dauphin.
Crops around Swan River and Roblin are advancing and most of the canola crop is now past the cotyledon stage.
Canola that was broadcast and harrowed into the soil in the eastern half of the region is doing well.
Hay fields and pastures are improving as higher pasture land next to Lake Winnipegosis, Lake Manitoba and Lake Dauphin recovers from the wet spring.
Low-lying forage land adjacent to the lakes remains under water.
EASTERN
Crop development highly variable
Canola crops vary widely from the two true leaf stage to the 15 percent bloom stage. Oat fields are in the four leaf and one tiller stage.
The winter wheat crop is still rated as good and many crops have been, or soon will be, treated with fungicide for fusarium head blight.
Flax acres are minimal, but crop in the ground is doing well. Flax is 15 to 25 centimetres high.
Dairy farmers around La Broquerie and Grunthal have reported poor hay quality because of excess moisture.
INTERLAKE
Early seeded crops in poor condition
Only 20 percent of early seeded crops are in good condition.
Early seeded canola is bolting and starting to bloom.
Hay fields remain wet, and many producers are opting for round bale silage.
Dairy producers are making good progress and reporting above average yields for the hay crop.
Horse flies are plaguing cattle in the region, and producers are using insect control methods.
SASKATCHEWAN
SOUTH
Rain finally quits
Southern Saskatchewan had a welcome reprieve from spring and summer rainfall June 21–27.
Rainfall ranged from zero to 62 millimetres, which is far less than previous weeks, but the area is still waterlogged.
Access to fields is a major problem because of soft or washed out roads.
Topsoil moisture is rated 74 percent surplus in the southeast and 40 percent in the southwest.
Two-thirds to three-quarters of the cereal, oilseed and pulse crops are behind normal development. Fall cereals are the exception: 71 percent are at the normal stage of development in the southwest.
Crops are showing signs of excess moisture stress and leaf diseases are appearing in the southeast. Rust has been spotted in winter wheat fields in the southwest. Sprayers are getting stuck in the fields, making weed control a challenge.
Eighty-five percent of pastures in the southeast and 99 percent in the southwest are rated good to excellent.
A few livestock producers in the southwest have begun cutting hay.
There has been no haying activity in the southeast, where many acres are inaccessible.
CENTRAL
Leaf disease problems
A few livestock producers have started cutting the hay crop.
Rainfall ranged from trace amounts to 53 mm. Hail was reported in the Yorkton, Jedburgh, Leroy, Meacham, Outlook and Kerrobert areas.
Many areas in the east-central region are reporting heavy weed growth and lost acres because of flooding. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated 50 percent surplus.
Leaf diseases are showing up, and rust has been reported in the winter wheat crop. Some crops are turning yellow because of flooding and excess moisture stress, and there are several crop stages within one field.
Some fields in west-central Saskatchewan are showing moisture stress, while emergence has been spotty in other areas because of a lack of moisture. Topsoil moisture is rated 17 percent surplus.
Pasture conditions are 91 to 92 percent good to excellent.
Warm weather has helped advance crops but more heat is needed in central Saskatchewan.
NORTH
Northwest welcomes rain
The northeast received seven to 38 mm of rain, while moisture in the northwest ranged from zero to 178 mm. Crops that looked good two weeks ago in the northeast are yellowing and some are under water. Leaf diseases are showing up. Aerial applicators have been busy.
Crops in the northwest that had patchy germination are filling in. The rain also gave hay crops a boost.
Farmers are spraying a second application of herbicide because moisture has caused another flush of weeds. Cutworms and leaf diseases are also causing damage.
Hail and moisture damage are expected to be extensive in areas of the northwest that received heavy rain last week, including Radisson, North Battleford, Meadow Lake and Pierceland.
Topsoil moisture on cropland is 68 percent surplus in the northeast and 12 percent in the northwest.
One-half to two-thirds of spring seeded crops are at normal stages of development. Half of the fall seeded cereals in the northwest and three-quarters in the northeast are at normal stages of development.
ALBERTA
PEACE
Northern areas still have drought
Plenty of rain fell in the south and central Peace regions, but the north is still suffering under drought stress.
Crops in the low lying wet areas are yellowing from moisture stress.
Lygus bugs have started to show up in canola fields, and farmers are keeping a close eye on them.
Some of the early seeded crops are starting to flower.
Haying has begun, but many hay and pasture fields will never recover after the dry spring.
SOUTH
Dry weather needed
Showers have continued throughout the region, making spraying difficult. Fields are beginning to yellow in low fields. Moisture stress is showing up in some fields and farmers can only hope for a stretch of dry weather.
Crops are generally looking good throughout the south. Spraying is underway with some aerial spraying for stripe rust in winter wheat.
Hay and pasture lands are looking good with some haying underway.
There are reports of cutworms, and farmers are advised to keep a close eye on their crops.
CENTRAL
Wet fields make spraying difficult
Spotty showers throughout the area have topped up already waterlogged fields, sloughs and potholes. Everything low is full to overflowing.
The wet fields have made spraying difficult and farmers are hoping for drier weather so they can spray weeds before the crops become too advanced.
Crops growing on high ground are looking good, but some fields look like they could use a bit more fertilizer. First cut haying has begun, and pastures are growing well. Cattle have to work to keep up to the grass.
NORTHEAST/NORTHWEST
Area on grasshopper alert
Grasshoppers got wet, but they weren’t drowned out. As a result, farmers with late seeded crops are keeping an eye out for any grasshopper damage.
Crops generally look good but need more heat to keep the crops growing if they are going to catch up to where they should be at this time of year.
Farmers trying to spray between the rains are putting plenty of ruts in the field. Some have given up and turned to aerial sprayers to reduce field damage.
