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“I know I’ll be combining in November”: Manitoba farmers behind due to late spring

Click to play video: 'Farmers grappling with rising feed and fertilizer costs'
Farmers grappling with rising feed and fertilizer costs
Between rising prices and falling supply, economic factors are hitting farmers left and right. Global's Michelle Karlenzig reports – Apr 10, 2022

This year’s late winter and harsh spring put farmers in Manitoba behind, including Curtis McRae.

“I know I’ll be combining in November,” said McRae.

He and other farmers need some reprieve, he says. Agriculture journalist Harry Siemens says he’s seeing it outside Manitoba too.

The crop all the way across Western Canada is probably as buried as I’ve seen it in my 50 years of journalism,” he said.

There’s around seven thousand acres of unseeded land in Manitoba right now, according to Siemens.

Many fields in the eastern half of the province are still too wet to allow producers to seed, however some areas are desperate for rain, which brings mixed emotions from farmers across the province. Global News

“That’s 10 per cent of all the crop,” said Siemens. “That’s unheard of.”

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But despite concern about seeds getting into the ground late, he said, the crops are looking good.

Uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine and inflationary economics will still have an impact on the costs to consumers, he added.

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