Local producers say they could enjoy a bumper harvest this fall thanks to early seeding and favourable weather conditions.

Starbuck area farmer Charles Fossay said most crops are in far better shape this summer than at comparable times the past few years.

"Right now in the Starbuck, Elie area crops are looking very good," he said.

 "I don’t want to jinx things, but the winter wheat and spring cereals are excellent and most of the canola is good to very good."

Fossay said while heavy rains in late May and early June posed a challenge, most crops in the area have fared well.

"Crops are well ahead of normal for this time of year," he said, adding both soybean and corn crops are looking particularly strong this year.

"It seems like the rains came at a time when most of the crops could handle the extra moisture."

The picture isn’t rosy for some producers, according to Keystone Agricultural Producers president Doug Chorney.

Chorney said some areas of the province are experiencing hardships this season.

"In western Manitoba, near the Saskatchewan border, they are dealing with excessive moisture right now and they are having difficulty with pesticide applications," he said.

"There is another big problem in the Assiniboine Valley just south of Russell all the way to St. Lazare there is a lot of over land flooding."

Chorney said the problems in the Assiniboine Valley were caused by the Shell Mouth Reservoir dumping a huge volume of water into the valley.

"A lot of farmers in the area had already seeded their crops and they are having them washed out now," he said. "It is kind of an artificial event so we are really concerned about it."

Chorney said despite isolated flooding, the outlook for crops is most areas is positive.

"We had a nice early start to the season which is always a positive sign for potential yield," he said. "Moisture conditions are near ideal for most of the province."

prescott.james@canstarnews.com