The Manitoba government will not waive its Nov. 10 fertilizer application deadline, but it will consider individual requests for extensions.
“At this time we anticipate most producers will be finished in the fields and the ground will likely be frozen by Nov. 10, so it is unlikely that a general extension of the deadline would be implemented,” a Conservation and Water Stewardship spokesperson said.
In October, farmers asked the government to postpone the deadline if the weather in November was suitable for fertilizer application.
This year’s delayed harvest shrunk the opportunity to apply fertilizer from weeks to days. As well, 1.4 million acres of soybeans and corn meant many growers were busy harvesting a crop in October.
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“There’s a lot of corn acres still to be harvested and a lot of tillage work (to be done),” said Keystone Agricultural Producers president Doug Chorney.
In 2011, the province established Nov. 10 as the fall fertilizer deadline and April 10 as the first day that producers could apply nutrients. The Conservation and Water Stewardship spokesperson said the measures reduce the risk of nutrients flowing into Manitoba’s streams, rivers and lakes, particularly Lake Winnipeg,.
“These rules are included in legislation that received all party support in recognition of the government’s efforts to protect and restore the health of Lake Winnipeg,” the spokesperson said.
Chorney said the deadlines are unnecessary because farmers aren’t going to apply nitrogen or phosphorus worth tens of thousands of dollars to frozen soil.
The spokesperson said there is flexibility in the regulation.
“We will monitor weather conditions and review individual requests for an extension of the deadline on a case by case basis.”
