Manitoba’s harvest season is near completion with a little over three quarters of all crops now harvested.
The numbers are based off of the province’s latest crop report which points to 76 per cent completion. Dated Sept. 26, the report highlights the progress that farmers have been able to make, including with one of the province’s top three crops — soybeans.
Still the crop with the lowest percent of completion, soybeans currently sit at about 41 per cent.
But as a whole, in a previous interview with Global News, editor of the report Dennis Lange said this year’s harvest is on a good track. It’s a sentiment that Jake Ayre, vice president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, shares. He said farmers are wrapping up their season.
“We (took) a little longer to finish up, but it’s nothing out of the normal this year,” said Ayre.
He added that in the conversation about harvest and crop numbers, it’s good to consider weather conditions like rain, which can play a part in slowing down the harvest, specifically for fall crops.
He also said although the harvest has been normal this year, conditions for crop growth have been “abnormally dry.” He noted this could be a result of less precipitation, pointing to how the province saw less than 50 per cent of its average rainfall this year.
Yet, those conditions can benefit the harvest for certain crops. Ayre said that it can benefit cereal producers, due to the lower levels of moisture left behind. Breaking it further, he said that different crop types yield a different process towards harvest.
“On our farm we planted winter wheat. We say that (in) August and September, it germinates. And then the frost come, the snow covers (it), then it starts growing again in the spring. Then we harvest it in the summer,” said Ayre.
Noting that the harvest season is still ongoing, Ayre said it’s important for farmers and producers to take care of themselves.
“That’s kind of the key thing for everyone,” said Ayre. “We expect to the machines that we run… the tractors to operate at peak performance. But they break down too, so they need oil changes, they need rest, they need fuel… you’ve got to take the time to repair or to refuel your own engine.”
— With files from Global’s Daisy’s Woelk
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