Rain delayed harvest progress throughout much of Manitoba, with Kane in the central region receiving the most at nearly 78 millimetres, while Poplarfield in the Interlake got four.

Harvest progress

The weekly provincial crop report said combining of winter wheat and fall rye is 100 per cent complete. The winter wheat yielded 50 to 80 bushels per acre and the fall rye ranged from 60 to 100.

Of the other reported crops being combined around the province:

• Field peas 99 per cent done, yielding 30 to 75 bu./ac.

• Spring wheat 79 per cent harvested, yielding 50 to more than 60 bu./ac.

• Barley 77 per cent finished, yielding 60 to 70 bu./ac.

• Oats 63 per cent complete, yielding 100 to 150 bu./ac.

• Canola 18 per cent finished, yielding 30 to 60 bu./ac.

Of those Manitoba crops yet to see their harvests get underway, the corn was in the R5 (dent) stage, flax reached the brown capsule stage, and the majority of sunflowers have finished flowering. Also, the dry beans are in the R8 to R9 growth stages and most soybeans are at R6 to R7.

Manitoba Ag reported spring wheat conditions have remained very firm at 80 to 90 per cent good to excellent, with fair ratings holding at 10 to 20 per cent.

Forages, pastures

With the recent frosts, producers are cautioned to watch for elevated levels of nitrates in greenfeed, crop silage still standing or in cereal regrowth.

Rainy cool weather slowed regrowth on pastures and hay lands with the frost delaying it even more. Cattle producers continued to make their way through their second cut of hay, with poor yields. Dairy producers were working on their third cut, with yields better than their second cut.

Pastures across Manitoba are reported to be in good shape with cattle remaining on them. However, rivers and dugout water levels are quite low.

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The study found that while forage yields were slightly reduced in wetter years due to shade, they actually increased during dry periods — suggesting that solar panels may help moderate the effects of drought on pastureland.

This work from Colorado is part of a growing field called agrivoltaics, which explores whether land can be used for both agriculture and solar power generation — an idea that may have particular relevance as producers grapple with tighter margins, more frequent drought and the push for additional on-farm revenue streams.

The concept is also gaining traction in Canada. The University of Calgary is developing an agrivoltaics research park to test practical setups, including vertically oriented solar panels — like fences — that could allow for both grazing and machinery access. This design aims to address one of the biggest barriers to dual-use in field crops: the sheer size of Prairie farm equipment.

An Alberta agrivoltaics conference held in late June brought together farmers, researchers and energy developers to explore how land-sharing models could work in practice — and where policy or infrastructure changes might be needed.

There’s also growing interest in how existing incentive programs for renewable energy could support agrivoltaics projects, as well as the potential for new programs specifically designed to encourage stacking of food or forage production with solar power generation.

For now, agrivoltaics remains mostly experimental in a Canadian context, but interest is growing, and future on-farm applications are increasingly part of the conversation.

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“Precipitation this week has brought some relief to crop conditions in certain areas, though prolonged hot and dry weather continues to be a challenge to crops and pastures in other regions,” said the report issued on July 25.

Ratings by region were mixed over the week, with central Alberta up six points at 93 per cent G-E. The northwest rated 71 per cent G-E but was down 11 points. The south rose three points at 64 per cent G-E and the northeast slipped four points, also to 64 per cent. The Peace dropped further in losing six points at 22 per cent G-E.

By crop, Alberta’s barley fared the best at 67 per cent G-E, followed by the spring wheat and dry peas at 66 per cent, the canola at 63 per cent, the oats at 55 per cent and tame hay at 42 per cent.

With the rain, the province’s surface soil added four points to the surface soil moisture levels at 57 per cent G-E. With 88 per cent G-E and four per cent surplus, the central led the rest of Alberta by a wide margin. The south was next at 50 per cent G-E, then the northeast at 48 per cent, the northwest at 43 per cent, and the Peace was far back at only 22 per cent.

As for subsurface soil moisture levels, Alberta tacked on one point at 48 per cent G-E. The central was at 80 per cent G-E, the northeast at 41 per cent, the south and northwest at 35 per cent, and Peace at 27 per cent.

The week’s moisture bumped up pasture ratings by four points at 52 per cent G-E.

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During the week ended July 7, Saskatchewan received up to 44 millimeters of rain in the Hanley area, with Serath, Lampman and Semans getting 28 to 32 mm. However, limited rainfall in several other areas has led to declines in moisture ratings:

• Topsoil 55 per cent adequate, 33 per cent short and 12 per cent very short

• Hayland 43 per cent adequate, 38 per cent short and 19 per cent very short

• Pastures 33 per cent adequate, 40 per cent short and 27 per cent very short

The crop report said Saskatchewan’s winter cereals were nine per cent ripe, 47 per cent dough, 38 per cent heading and five per cent in the flag leaf and stem elongation. Of the spring cereals, four per cent were dough, 53 per cent were heading, 28 per cent at flag leaf and 15 per cent at stem elongation or tillering.

Of the oilseeds, the province’s flax was one per cent ripe, two per cent boll, 31 per cent flowering, 62 per cent stem elongation and four per cent seedling. The canola and mustard were at two per cent podded, 55 per cent flowering, 29 per cent bolting, 12 per cent rosette and one per cent seedling.

The pulses ranged from 11 per cent podded, 67 per cent flowering, 21 per cent vegetative and one per cent seedling.

Crop damage across the province ranged from a few instances of dry conditions, hot temperatures, wind, and hail. There were also areas where excessive rainfall prevented farmers from spraying fungicides. Also there were reports of insect and wildlife damage.

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Some much needed rain fell over parts of the province, with amounts varying widely from about one millimetre in several locales to as much as 65 mm in the Sprague area.

Manitoba’s spring wheat was rated at 90 per cent good to excellent, with the earliest seeded fields heading. The winter wheat and fall rye were in good shape as well with some fields starting to set seed. The corn ranged from V4 to V7.

Among the oilseeds, the canola ranged from early flowering in the early planted fields to later seeded crops in two to six leaf stages. The province’s flax was said to be 10 to 15 centimeters tall, and the sunflowers were in the V4 to V10 stages. Also the most advanced soybeans were at the sixth trifoliate.

The report said Manitoba’s field peas were primarily in the seventh to 12 node stages with the earliest seeded fields starting to flower.

As for the forages, corn for silage was growing well and haying was underway. Dairy farmers have largely completed their first cut while beef producers started to hay. The province’s alfalfa and clover have started to bloom and some grasses are heading out.

Pastures are largely stable, but there are instances of overgrazing.

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Progress in southern Alberta continued to be far ahead of the rest of the province at 76 per cent, up 30 points on the week. However, producers also made strong progress in the other regions:

• Central advanced 31 points at 51 per cent done

• Northeast also progressed 31 points at 37 per cent finished

• Northwest is up 21 points at 29 per cent complete

• Peace River pushed 17 points at 27 per cent seeded.

By crop, emergence

By crop, Alberta’s dry peas were furthest along at 74 per cent seeded, followed by the spring wheat at 66 per cent. Barley was next, near the halfway point with canola at 24 per cent finished and oats at 17 per cent.

The report cited overall emergence at 10 per cent, seven points more than the five-year average. By region that worked out to be 19 per cent in the central, 15 per cent in the south, five in the northwest, and three in the northeast and Peace.

Moisture levels

Surface soil moisture levels, from the ground to six inches down, rated 59 per cent good to excellent, virtually on par with the five-year average. Recent precipitation helped to improve some ratings, but there were declines in others:

• Central up 20 points at 85 per cent G-E

• Peace down 11 points at 56 per cent G-E

• South dipped two points at 50 per cent G-E

• Northeast climbed 13 points at 45 per cent G-E

• Northwest held at 41 per cent G-E

Of note, no part of Alberta had any excessive surface soil moisture levels.

The report placed pasture growth conditions at 59 per cent good to excellent provincewide, 11 points above the five-year average. Alberta’s tame hay also came in at 59 per cent good to excellent, 15 points ahead of average.

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The department said there have been small amounts of peas, spring wheat and oats primarily seeded in the central, eastern and Interlake regions of the province. Meanwhile, no oilseed crops have been planted to date.

Planting projections

Statistics Canada forecast Manitoba farmers to seed 3.22 million acres of spring wheat this year, up from 3.18 million in 2024. Planted canola acres were projected at 3.12 million, down from last year’s 3.34 million. Soybean acres are to expand to 1.63 million this year from 1.43 million in 2024.

The report noted Manitoba’s winter wheat and fall rye survived the winter in good condition. However, a better assessment for winterkill will be made after the first stretch of warm weather.

Moisture conditions

As for soil moisture, Manitoba Ag reported good conditions in the province’s northwest and Interlake. There are concerns about low levels in the eastern and southern regions.

While numerous areas of the province received little to no rain over the last week, an area from Findlay to Reston in the southwest had up to 44 millimeters.

The amount of spring run-off depended on the region, with the central and southwest seeing minimal to average flows. Numerous fields in the northwest and the Interlake were saturated.

Most of the province’s cattle remained in their winter-feeding areas as there has been limited forage growth on pastures and hayfields. The report said there are still adequate supplies of hay.

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The province’s south was furthest along at 94 per cent finished, followed by the central region at 92 per cent, the northwest at 80 per cent, the northeast at 78 per cent and the Peace region at 75 per cent.

The Alberta dry pea harvest wrapped up as it hit 100 per cent, with the barley and spring wheat at 92 per cent, oats at 78 per cent and canola at 71 per cent.

Fall-seeded crops came in at 57 per cent good to excellent, matching the five-year average, the crop report noted. Those crops in the south were at 76 per cent good to excellent, the central at 68 per cent, the northwest at 34 per cent, and the northeast at 25 per cent, while the Peace didn’t provide a rating.

The rain that fell maintained surface soil moisture ratings at 50 per cent good to excellent plus slightly below one per cent excessive. By region, the Peace was at 66 per cent good to excellent, the central at 60 per cent, the northeast at 47 per cent, the south at 44 per cent and the northwest at 34 per cent.

The province’s pastures were 35 per cent good to excellent overall with the Peace region leading the way at 57 per cent. Next was the central region at 50 per cent good to excellent, the central and northeast at 25 per cent and the northwest at 18 per cent.

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By region, southwest Saskatchewan was at 99 per cent harvested, the southeast at 94 per cent, west-central 90 per cent, east-central 88 per cent, the northwest at 85 per cent and the northeast at 81 per cent.

Fall rye and lentils officially reached the finished column after being 99 per cent harvested last week. They join field peas, winter wheat and triticale which were already complete.

Durum progressed to 99 per cent done, with barley and mustard at 98 per cent, spring wheat at 96 per cent, chickpeas at 95 per cent, and oats at 94 per cent. Also, canaryseed reached 92 per cent finished, followed by canola at 82 per cent, flax at 68 per cent and soybeans at 56 per cent.

Saskatchewan’s oats yielded 75 bushels per acre, with barley at 62, spring wheat between 46 to 49, the winter wheat at 47 and the fall rye at 46. As well, field peas produced 35 bu./ac., canola at 33, durum at 32, soybeans at 29, and flax at 22. Of crops yielding by the pound, chickpeas garnered 1,431 pounds per acre, canaryseed 1,250, lentils 1,220 and mustard is at 688.

Topsoil moisture conditions slipped during the week, at 60 per cent adequate, 34 per cent short, and six per cent very short. Hayland topsoil moisture rated 50 per cent adequate, 35 per cent short and 15 per cent very short. Pasture topsoil moisture were reported at 43 per cent adequate, 37 per cent short and 20 per cent very short. The crop report noted farmers are hoping for good amounts of rain before freeze-up.

Although the harvest is almost finished, there was still instances of crop damage from strong winds, wildlife and waterfowl.

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Last winter, we created a new little pasture by clearing out the trees and willow bushes, then piling and burning them in hopes of growing more grass. We grazed that new pasture twice this summer with our yearling heifers, and it served as one more paddock in our rotation system.

However, the willows have been coming back in again prolifically, sending up shoots all over the pasture. The heifers ate them back a little since they like to browse on the leaves, but at the rate the new shoots are regrowing, we fear we’ll lose all the cleared ground we’d gained.

We didn’t want to use spray, and hoped to set these bushes back naturally with the cattle’s browsing activity. Since our bull corrals have no brush or weeds because of the constant nibbling activity (animals in corrals being fed hay always like to eat something else in addition), we thought we’d winter the yearling bulls in the new little pasture and let them work on the willows, then take them out again in early spring before the grass starts to grow.

They still need hay for winter feed, so we had to figure out some kind of feeder to keep them from wasting hay fed on the ground. Since hay feeders/mangers/bunks are expensive, anywhere from several hundred dollars to more than $1,000, we decided to build one ourselves with materials at hand. We could situate it in the fence corner next to the lane, where we could easily add hay through the fence, and brace it solidly in the corner so the bulls couldn’t move it around and damage it.

My daughter Andrea and I scrounged materials from our “salvage pile” and created the feeder in a couple of hours. At first we thought we’d build it from some old boards but then realized it would be quicker and easier to utilize an old leaky aluminum water trough that hadn’t been usable for 25 years. It would be perfect for the job, since any rain or snow melt could leak out instead of pooling around the hay. To reinforce and secure it so the bulls couldn’t damage it, we situated it tightly in the fence corner against the braces, and placed an old board under the edge of the trough to keep it from being flat on the ground.

The old fence removed last winter when the new pasture was created had been a couple of feet off the new fence line, so there was an old post hole conveniently located near the end of the water trough. I cleaned out the old hole (reaching in to remove the caved-in dirt) and made it deep enough again to put in a salvaged post. After tamping it solidly, and using several old boards to brace it, the makeshift post was very secure.

Thus we could use that post to secure a pole placed tightly against the top of the water trough to reinforce it so the bulls couldn’t mash it down when leaning into the trough to eat their hay. We secured the other end of the pole to the fence brace in the opposite corner.

We also put a pole along the bottom of the water trough to make sure it wasn’t damaged and caved in by the bulls’ feet. We used a tall board to brace it and keep it from moving out from the trough. Everything was securely screwed together. It helped having a battery-powered drill for putting in all the screws! Our inexpensive feed manger was created quickly and easily, using materials salvaged from fence remodels in the past.

Now the young bulls are happily eating willows and dormant grass in that pasture, with plenty of room for exercise, and enjoying a little hay from their “new” feeder to balance their diet. If we can use this as a winter pasture or young bulls every year, we may eventually win the war on willows.

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