Crop lodging in cereals was a common problem for Manitoba producers last year, with strong wind and rain events over the summer.

Provincial cereal specialist Pam de Rocquigny says while a lot of the crop tried to recover, in the end, lodging affected some yields and quality. While producers can't control the weather, de Rocquigny says producers can use variety selection to help reduce lodging.

"Definitely you want to be looking at shorter, strong varieties, there definitely are quite a selection out there for producers to look at," she says. "It's just that that shorter stature, the stronger stem that kind of helps that plant resist those forces in terms of the wind and the rain that can result in lodging."

De Rocquigny says nitrogen management is also important for lodging mitigation.

"Usually if you have excess amounts of nitrogen, that can lead to taller plants that have thinner stems, weaker stems that predispose that plant to being lodged if we do get that wind and that rain. So definitely we recommend producers soil test so they know what they're working with, and then to apply the appropriate rates at the right timing," she says.

De Rocquigny also says a newer tool for Western Canadian farmers to use in combatting lodging is plant grow regulators, which can reduce plant height.