By Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Feb. 24 (CNS) – Record yields for Manitoba corn last year raised the attractiveness of the commodity for many growers, however the potential for a delayed spring this year could dampen that enthusiasm, according to one industry-watcher.
“If we get into a delayed planting situation we may see producers switch their corn acres into another shorter-season crop type,” said Pam de Rocquigny, general manager of the Manitoba Corn Growers Association.
In 2016, yields in Manitoba hit a record 146 bushels an acre, according to Manitoba Agriculture.
“It makes us wonder what could have been if we had ideal growing conditions, as we had some challenging weather last year,” de Rocquigny noted.
Last year Manitoba farmers seeded 345,000 acres, according to Statistics Canada, up from 250,000 acres in 2015.
De Rocquigny says it’s too soon to say what will happen this spring but she believes corn could hit the 300,000 acre level.
She said the plant proved its hardiness last year when it faced so much precipitation.
“Corn can handle excess moisture conditions a little bit better, after crop establishment,” said de Rocquigny.
Recent warm weather has melted some of the snowpack before spring hits.
In the fall, de Rocquigny notes producers will want to see as little moisture as possible.
“In the last five to seven years, some guys were able to take corn off relatively dry, where they only needed to put it on aeration. More often than not though, corn does require artificial drying to get it to safe storage levels,” she said.
Ideally, corn should hit physiological maturity in September.
“Obviously the closer you can get to safe moisture storage levels out in the field, the less cost there will be of artificially drying it. But like we saw last fall, sometimes that’s not an option,” she said.
