(Resource News International) — Last year at this time, producers were still waiting for the soils in Manitoba to dry up enough to begin seeding corn — not the case this year, according to an official with the Manitoba Corn Growers Association.
“Producers have already started planting the corn crop in Manitoba as conditions are currently good for these operations,” said Theresa Bergsma, secretary-manager for the Carman-based MCGA.
It might be a bit on the early side to be planting corn in Manitoba, but if the crop can make it through May without a frost, these producers are going to get a huge jump on the crop, she said.
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Corn can handle frost up to the three-leaf stage of development, she noted.
“It all comes down to getting as much heat units for the corn crop as they can, and by getting it in the ground earlier than normal, the exposure to the heat will begin sooner,” Bergsma said.
In an average year, corn needs about 2150 to 2200 heat units, she said. Last year, the crop in Manitoba was short by about 400 units.
“Most of the remaining heat units also came in September, which was on the late side for the crop,” she said.
As a result, a portion of Manitoba’s corn crop was left over winter.
“The wet fall in Manitoba made it hard for producers to take the corn crop off, so some decided to leave it over the winter to see what would happen,” Bergsma said.
Some producers ended up plowing the crop over while some were still waiting to harvest last year’s corn crop, she said.
Area planted to corn in Manitoba, based on Statistics Canada’s first crop survey of the year, released Monday, projected Manitoba producers were planning on seeding 175,000 acres to the crop in 2010.
“That is about right based on info we are working with,” Bergsma said. In 2009, she noted, producers in Manitoba intended on seeding 195,000 acres to corn, but actual plantings were only in the 165,000-acre range.
Most of the corn produced in Manitoba will be for the domestic feed and ethanol markets, although a small portion of extremely high quality corn will go to whisky processing at Gimli, Man., Bergsma said.
Last year Husky Energy purchased most of the corn produced in Manitoba, she said.
