Manitoba Agriculture
Crop Report
July 18, 2023
Northwest Region
A mixed week with warm temperatures reaching high 20’s with Dauphin the warmest at 26.8°C. Nighttime temperatures in the single digits being reported nearing 0°C degrees. Inglis weather station recorded 0.6°C, with local reports stating that some crops were lightly touched by frost. Precipitation was minimal for most of the region with Alonsa and The Pas receiving the highest amount(18.5 and 15 mm, respectively). There were localized showers across the region bringing precipitation as well. Many areas are in need of rain to keep the crop in good condition.
Spring cereals continue to progress and are mostly in the milk to dough stage. Most of the spring cereals are in good to excellent condition but would greatly benefit from precipitation.
The majority of the canola is flowering/podding, with some of the earliest seeded canola nearing flower completion. Approximately 40% of the canola is podding; 50% flowering; 10% bolting. Most of the fungicide treatments have been completed for those that applied.
Field peas are mostly looking good, however there are some fields that did not get timely rain and appear short. Growth stages are mostly at R4 and continuing to advance. A small number of fields are podded and beginning to mature.
Soybeans are mostly at the R2 stage across the region. For the most part they look good, but in some areas that haven’t got adequate moisture they appear short. Some areas continue to see grasshopper activity picking up.
Provincial Overview
Crop development has slowed during the last week due to the cooler conditions. In the Northwest region, nighttime temperatures reached the single digits nearing 0°C degrees. There were isolated reports that some crops were lightly touched by frost. No significant damage being reported.
While crops remain in good condition overall, soil moisture reserves are not adequate to maintain crop condition unless recharged relatively soon.
Winter cereal crops continued to dry down over last week. Corn growth stage ranged from VT (tassel emergence) to early R1 (silk) for the earliest seeded fields. The soybean crop remained in good condition on most fields with the exception of some later seeded crop that remains stagey and thin due to poor topsoil moisture conditions at seeding time.