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(Image Credit: file photo/farmnewsNOW Staff)

Crops advancing with hot weather

Aug 6, 2026 | 9:40 AM

Warmer temperatures have pushed crop development forward in Manitoba. 

According to the Manitoba Agriculture crop report released Wednesday, some growers can expect to begin harvest within the next couple of weeks.  

Oilseed specialist Sonia Wilson said crops are moving quickly through their growth stages. 

“The winter wheat and fall rye are sitting at the hard dough stage in most regions with some fields ripe in the southwest. Those will probably get going in the next week or two here,” Wilson said. “We’re also seeing that barley and oats are going to be expected to begin being desiccated. Some will be a couple weeks out in the southwest and eastern regions.”  

Variable precipitation was reported, with some accumulations in the southwest, central and eastern regions but very little to none in the Interlake region. Wilson said the majority of spring cereals are in the soft dough to hard dough stage, while corn is somewhere between silking and fully pollinated cobs. She added that canola ripening is variable. 

“Some fields in central regions are at 40 to potentially 60 per cent seed colour change, so again, a couple weeks out, but definitely moving rapidly with these warm temperatures,” she added. 

In terms of disease, there are signs of sclerotinia in canola even in fields that were sprayed. There are reports of fusarium head blight in cereals.  

Wilson said Bertha armyworms remain below threshold. There were also reports of grasshoppers in cereal fields. 

alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com