Harvest operations are slowly starting to get underway. Crop condition and staging across the Prairies is variable depending on location and rainfall patterns.
In Manitoba, early reports of swathing in canola have come in from the Interlake and Central regions, along with some winter cereals.
Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson put together this week's Manitoba Crop Report.
She says cereal crops are nearing harvest readiness, with many fields already desiccated or soon to be. Winter wheat and fall rye are at similar stages, while the earliest-seeded spring wheat is at the hard dough stage, progressing alongside barley and oats.
Cornfields across the province are currently ranging from the R1 (silking) to blister stage, indicating steady development. Canola fields show a wide range of maturity due to varied seeding dates. The earliest-seeded canola is fully podded, with some fields reaching 30 to 40 per cent seed color change, while later seeded or re-seeded fields are just finishing flowering.
Flax crops are also advancing, with early-seeded fields showing boll color change and later fields finishing flowering. Sunflowers are progressing from the R3 to R5 stages, with some fields already flowering.
Pulse crops are moving quickly. Field peas are in the ripening stage, with many already desiccated or soon to be. Soybeans vary by seeding date, with the earliest at the R4 stage (full pod) and later-seeded fields between R2 and R3.
She notes it will probably be a couple of weeks before farmers are in the full swing of harvest.
In Saskatchewan, one percent of the Provincial harvest is now complete.
Ministry of Agriculture Crops Extension Specialist Tyce Masich reports that a few producers in the southwest have begun harvesting early-seeded pulse crops and winter cereals. So far, 24 per cent of winter wheat and 13 per cent fall rye have been combined, with 2 per cent of field peas and one per cent of lentils harvested.
Despite this early activity, recent rainfall in parts of West Central and the southwest has brought welcome relief, especially for later-seeded crops still in development.
Crop development across the province is highly variable this season. Areas like the southeast and West Central have experienced consistent moisture, resulting in crops that are developing at mostly normal stages. In contrast, regions such as the southwest, northeast, northwest, and east-central have faced inconsistent or minimal rainfall, leading to uneven crop progress. Rapid crop development due to limited moisture has resulted in a higher percentage of crops being ahead of normal. Crops in areas that have received sufficient rain so far this year are generally at normal stages while moisture-stressed crops are typically ahead of normal growth stages.
In the northwest, where moisture has been nearly non-existent, hot and dry conditions have taken a toll on crops all season and that trend is continuing. Producers in affected areas will need to closely monitor crop conditions over the coming weeks as harvest approaches.
In Alberta, harvest operations have begun for fall-seeded crops and pulses in the Southern Region. Manglai, a project co-ordinator with AFSC notes that in the Peace and North West regions, harvest of spring seeded crops is expected to begin within the next two weeks.
Precipitation across the province last week ranged from scattered showers to heavier rainfall. While some areas experienced hail, moisture continues to be welcome, particularly in regions that have been dry. Recent precipitation has been beneficial for spring-seeded crops, supporting head and pod development during critical growth stages. However, the added moisture may lead to harvest delays for fall-seeded crops in certain regions.
Major cereal crops continue to develop ahead of the long-term average, with the provincial average growth stage now at early dough development, compared to the historical average of late milk stage.