It appears early seeded oats have come through the cold, wet weather of the past 2 weeks in good shape. Roger Robert of the Manitoba Agriculture office in St. Pierre says some producers were worried seed might be rotting in the ground. He explains oats are more susceptible to rot if left in the ground in wet conditions for a long period of time. Robert tells us he has checked 5 fields this week and all of them are germinating nicely.

    Meantime, Robert says there was no seeding in the past week because of wet weather. He adds, the soil is saturated and any more rain in the next week could take away from crop yields. Robert says farmers would like a couple of weeks of sunshine now so they can finish seeding.