Fields have dried up and soil temperatures are well suited for seeding, but growers in western Manitoba are taking a cautious approach with soybeans, says a Manitoba Agriculture representative.
Scott Chalmers, a crop diversification expert in Melita, Man., said extremely cold temperatures in April and a belated start to spring have made growers wary of planting something new, like soybeans, on their farms.
“The fluctuations in climate has kind of thrown guys for a loop,” he said.
Dennis Lange, a Manitoba Agriculture farm production adviser and soybean specialist, agreed that novice soybean growers might not experiment with beans or increase acres this year.
Read Also
Alberta Crop Report: Rains in the south, dryness in the north
Rain fell onto the southern half of Alberta last week, while hot and dry conditions persisted in the northern half, according to the province’s crop report released on July 18.
Since last fall, industry watchers have speculated that Manitoba producers would seed more than one million acres of soybeans in 2013, shattering last year’s record of 850,000 acres.
At this point, Lange isn’t sure what to think about one million acres of soybeans.
“I’m still flipping a coin on that one,” he said. “During the winter months there was a lot of excitement about growing soybeans. Now I’m hearing reports of growers getting a little antsy (about) growing beans in western Manitoba.”
Frank Prince, who farms 4,500 acres near Deloraine, Man., said some of his neighbours might not follow through on their soybean intentions.
Some farmers might assume that soybeans should be seeded as early as possible. In practice, though, soybeans should be seeded in late May, Prince noted.
“They’re all cutting acres right now because … they want to have their beans in May 1,” said Prince, who began seeding today and intends to plant a minimum of 1,200 acres of soybeans. “Beans aren’t a May 1 crop…. I’d rather have them in June 1 than May 1…. Beans hate frost and beans hate cold ground.”
Last year Prince seeded his soybeans May 28, about 10 days later than most farmers around Deloraine. Thanks to warm soil, Prince’s beans emerged from the ground in three days. The beans planted 10 days earlier sat in the ground for a week and a half, only to emerge at the same time as his soybeans, Prince said.
Lange concurred it’s not necessary to plant soybeans in early May. In an ideal world, growers should seed beans between May 15 and 25 in western Manitoba.
Chalmers, who was seeding soybeans today into the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization’s test plots near Melita, said conditions right now are well suited for beans.
The soil temperature around Melita was 12.8 C in the middle of May, well above the 10 C minimum for beans.
Even if the weather turns sour in the second half of May, Prince remains confident in soybeans. In fact, Prince may seed up to 3,000 acres of beans if conditions become wet because he believes soybeans are hardier than other crops when it comes to excessive moisture.
