By all accounts, seeding is done in Alberta with many crops already emerging.
Crops around Edmonton are already taller than the stubble left over from last fall, but some crops are spotty already with the lack of rain and the blustery wind over the past few weeks that's quickly drying everything out.
Alberta crop specialist Harry Brook is based in Stettler, located about 82 kilometres east of Red Deer. He says crop emergence is looking "terrific" in the Stettler area and west of the community after receiving between one and one-and-a-half inches of rain on May 11, and another inch about a week-and-a-half ago.
"So we've got terrific emergence. Everything is nice and even," Brook said, but on the other side of the coin, he noted "you don't have to go very far east before you start noticing some spotty emergence and some crops that look like they're kind of stalled a bit."
Brook says over the Heisler area, about 74 kilometres northeast of Stettler, crops are looking "very patchy" and haven't had the moisture the Stettler area has.
"So it's, the further east you go, the kind of the worse it gets. You know, I'm really getting tired of having to talk about how dry it is. I would really love to complain about, oh, there's so much mud, you can't get out there and field, but that's not this year." Brook added.
Brook is hoping for rain this month to help crops develop, but should dry conditions persist, it'll cause problems.
"As long as you've got some moisture in the soil, and we do have a fair bit of moisture in the soil, the roots can follow the moisture down and take it, but my concern is what happens when they've used up all the moisture that's in there? And our weather conditions, although it's not been really, really hot for a long time, we had a couple of hot days last week, it's the wind that's sort of sucking a lot of moisture out, which could be used for crop production, but evaporation's been pretty high." said Brook.
Meanwhile in Manitoba, provincial seeding progress is about 95% complete, up from 85% last week. Below is a regional breakdown of the Parkland Region from Manitoba Agriculture.
Southwest
Seeding is nearly complete, with only some canola acres and a few cereal fields remaining. In-crop spraying will be needed in several crops over the next week.
Winter cereals are progressing well, fall rye is in the boot stage. Spring wheat seeding is complete, with most fields emerged and at the 3 to 4 leaf stage with tillering underway. Barley and oat seeding is complete, with only some green feed fields left to be seeded. Most barley and oats are at the 3 to 4 leaf stage. Corn planting is complete, and most fields have emerged.
Field pea seeding is complete, with most fields emerged and at the 3 to 4 node stage. Pea leaf weevil has appeared and is causing notching on pea leaves. Soybean planting is about 90% complete.
Most producers planted canola this week, and approximately 90% of canola acres are seeded. Some early seeded fields have emerged and are in the 2 to 3 leaf stage. Some areas are reporting minor flea beetle feeding. Flax planting is complete, with some fields emerging. Sunflower planting is also complete.
Northwest
Good seeding progress was made this week, with seeding nearing completion.
Fall rye and winter wheat crops range from boot stage to early head emergence. Spring wheat seeding is estimated to be 98% complete. Earlier seeded fields are starting to tiller. In crop herbicide applications are taking place as the appropriate stages are reached.
Field pea seeding is approximately 99% complete. Most fields are in the vegetative stage with a few late seeded fields at V1. Field pea weevil feeding has been noted in several areas.
Soybean seeding continues and is approximately 95% complete. Earliest seeded fields are at the VC stage.
Canola seeding is approximately 90% complete. Earliest seeded canola is at the 2 to 4 leaf stage. Flea beetle activity has increased.
Saskatchewan's seeding progress is at 97% complete, which is up from 88% last week and ahead of the five and ten-year averages for this time of year.
(With files from Dean Thorpe, CFCW Edmonton)
