Soybean harvest is moving along quickly in southern Manitoba.

"Over the last couple of weeks we've made great progress. The weather has finally settled down and we're getting lots of sunny days," says Brent Reid, farm production advisor with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. "The harvest is moving along very nicely."

Growers are reporting a wide range of yields, depending on the impact of excess moisture. "We're hearing reports from growers who had excessive amounts of rain, yields down around 10 to 15 bushels per acre, and then up to 45 bushels plus in areas where they didn't get that excess moisture," Reid says. "Overall, the northeast part of the province was the area that suffered the most. Yields there will probably average somewhere in the 20 to 30 bushel range. As you go further south, we're hearing lots of 35s to 45s."

He notes seed moisture levels have not been a problem in most areas. "Some of them are actually over-dry -drier than what we need- but at least we won't have to be putting a lot of beans through the drier or even on aeration."

~ Thursday, October 7, 2010 ~