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Manitoba seeding nearly complete, but northwest region faces delays

Jun 10, 2026 | 2:57 PM

The latest Manitoba crop report suggests 93 per cent of spring seeding is complete. 

However, the northwest region is nowhere near finished. Weekend storms damaged fields and washed out roads and bridges in the Swan Valley and San Clara areas. 

James Frey is an applied research and production specialist with Manitoba Agriculture based in Roblin. 

Seeding progress in the northwest is well behind the rest of Manitoba because of heavy rain. 

Frey said cattle are out in pasture and probably will not be moving anytime soon. 

“Well, I think it probably would be difficult to move them around in some areas of the Northwest at the moment, but those that are out, most are out by now and actually pasture conditions have looked very good over the last week,” Frey said. “We’ve seen with that moisture that we got even two weeks ago, plus the heat that we’ve had, we’ve seen some good growth.” 

Frey said alfalfa is beginning to catch up and is roughly 18 inches high. Some producers have put bulls out in their pastures for those targeting a March calving date. 

For forage crops, silage corn is up, and some is at the second leaf stage or beyond. 

“Unfortunately, we do also see that there are some flooding concerns with standing water in areas whether it’s for hayland or just in the pastures. There’s not much we can do but hope that the tap turns off and waits for those areas to dry out,” he said. 

In southwestern Manitoba, temperatures climbed more than 10 C above normal over the weekend in hot, humid conditions. 

Frey said thunderstorms developed over the weekend, with reports of minor hail in Waskada along the Saskatchewan border and in northern areas such as Rossburn, Forrest and Minnedosa. 

“Significant moisture was received across the region; however, most of it came from sudden storm events, resulting in standing water in fields in some locations.” 

Frey said a few more days of rain are in the forecast for the Roblin area, followed by sun. 

“We certainly all hope to see some of that water begin to fade away.” 

alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com