April 23, 2026
How it started….. a beautiful drying day in southern Manitoba! Sunny and windy. I started off from Carman that afternoon and headed south west.
Most snow banks were gone. I did come across some fields with standing water, and I caught a few glimpses of green grass.
Then the clouds rolled in.
I spotted some action in the field, a tractor and stone picker just west of Killarney.
Heading further west , I noticed some seeding rigs, still in the yard but hooked up and looking ready to roll.
I arrived in a field of wheat stubble that was soon to be seeded to peas. I didn’t even need to change into my rubber boots as the field surface and the ditch was dry.
As I walked into the field, I did come across some weeds that recently had emerged. Dandelion, volunteer wheat, and some healthy looking foxtail barley. The grayish green colour of the fine leaves can make it tricky to see at first.
I removed the crop residue, before gathering a sample of the topsoil, that will be sent off to Alberta, to be tested by Syama Chatterton for her Aphanomyces study project. We needed a sample from a low and wet area of the field and another sample from a high and dry area of the field.
How tacky was it out there, dry enough to seed?
Well it was definitely not soaking wet. The soil formed a ball when squeezed and soil ball didn’t break apart when bounced but crumbled when I poked it with my thumb, so it seems like it was getting close.
Closer to Melita, I saw a tractor and harrows in the field.
The temperature kept dropping.
….and the wind kept blowing. Watch this corn residue flying around!
How the day ended… Winter storm, with snow and slush, from the Assessippi Valley to Grandview!
