The Canadian Wheat Board estimates Prairie winter wheat acreage will increase about 5% compared to last year.


Director of Weather and Crop Surveillance Bruce Burnett says weather conditions in late august and early september were not favourable to winter cereal seeding.


He notes there was strong interest in winter wheat, but unfortunetly dry conditions in late august and september curtailed the last few producers from putting acres in.


Burnett adds the precipitation which fell earlier this month helped what was already in the ground, but for the most part it came too late for those who had already decided not to seed winter wheat due to the dry conditions.


The crop insurance deadline in Manitoba was September 15th.