The recent storms rolling through the province are spelling trouble for Manitoba’s crops, some more than others.
Manitoba farmer Curtis McRae says his farm has managed to avoid the worst of the weather so far, but despite missing the brunt of the storm, he’s among many whose crops are a few weeks behind in terms of development.
“Seeding was at least three weeks behind, but now maturity is sped up about a week,” he says. “So we’d still need to try and grab maybe another two weeks.”
McRae says the rainfall resulted in 500 acres of land going unseeded, which puts him below the number of crops he planted last year.
He says more rain could make the situation worse.
“When we have storms like this that flood the crops that are growing actively and the water doesn’t leave the field in a timely manner, those crops will actually drown and decay and won’t produce anything, and that’s a lot of wasted investment into a crop to lose in July.”
According to Keystone Agriculture Producers president Bill Campbell, losses from damaged crops would be significant for farmers this year.
“We need to be aware that farmers this spring planted their most expensive crop that they have ever planted,” he says. “So the risk of exposure at this particular point in time is quite extensive.”
Campbell says based on the weather, Manitoba’s crop output might not reach its maximum potential.
“With those weather-related issues and impacts on our infrastructure, on our yards and also the crops that we produce, (it) put a lot of strain and a lot of exposure on our producers at this particular point in time,” he says.
“We need to be able to ensure that we as producers have the tools to be able to mitigate some of those risk exposures.”
In terms of whether this year’s harvest will beat out last year’s, Campbell says it’s too early to say.
“There are some areas that have some good crops, but just like like everybody in society, we don’t know what tomorrow is bringing.”