Birds benefit from winter wheat

MANITOBA CO-OPERATOR — Winter wheat provides dramatically better nesting habitat for waterfowl and upland game birds compared to spring-seeded cereals.

That’s according to research presented by Ducks Unlimited Canada at a recent field day in Carberry. The Aug. 6 event, held at the Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre, was one of a series of field days outlining novel agriculture studies, agronomy work and variety trials at the province’s four crop diversification centres.

According to Alex Griffiths, conservation programs specialist for forages at Ducks Unlimited Canada, winter wheat’s biodiversity benefit equates to 24 times more productive nesting habitat than spring wheat.

It’s no longer that popular of a crop in Manitoba. In the early 2000s, local farmers were putting down over 200,000 acres (80,900 hectares) of winter wheat consistently each fall according to Statistics Canada, and in several years planted over double that number. The crop’s area peaked in 2008, when 620,000 acres (250,900 hectares) was growing.

Starting in 2012 though, acres began to slide. By fall 2020, only 32,000 acres (13,000 hectares) had been seeded the previous fall.

trial-winter-wheat

A field of trial winter wheat varieties at the Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre in Carberry on Aug. 6, 2025. | Photo by Miranda Leybourne

There was some bounce back. Acreage climbed back to 81,200 acres (32,900 hectares) in 2023, although the past two years have again seen smaller reports.

Not all is lost for winter cereals, however. Fall rye has seen an uptick in popularity in Manitoba. In 2025, Statistics Canada reports that Manitoba farmers were growing 174,200 acres of fall rye (70,500 hectares), well up from its levels in the mid-2010s.

Bolstering birds

Since the late 1900s and early 2000s, Ducks Unlimited Canada has been researching the stark differences between crop types when it comes to nesting success. In spring wheat and other spring-seeded cereals, researchers found one nest per 55 acres (22.26 hectares), with only a 12 per cent survival rate to hatching.

In winter wheat though, they found one nest in every seven acres (2.83 hectares) and a 38 per cent hatching success rate.

“A single quarter of winter wheat is about as productive as a little over 4,000 acres of spring wheat,” Griffiths said.

Winter wheat well timed

The crop’s timing works perfectly for returning migratory waterfowl, Griffiths added. When ducks and other birds arrive in March, April and early May and start looking for nesting sites, winter wheat is already established and growing, while most other fields remain unseeded.

Field operations in winter wheat, including fertility, herbicide and fungicide applications, are also done with large boom equipment well above ground level, leaving nests undisturbed.

New varieties show improved hardiness

With those results, it’s little surprise that the bird-focused conservation group is looking for ways to help farmers grow the crop better.

Ducks Unlimited Canada has partnered with Manitoba Agriculture and the Manitoba Crop Alliance on seeding rate trials for modern winter wheat varieties. The research fills a gap, Griffiths noted, as winter wheat hadn’t been subjected to seeding rate trials since the early 2000s, while other cereals have benefited from testing in recent years.

“Basically, every new variety that’s come out for winter wheat in the last six years has had very good winter hardiness, and in the past, it was more like fair to good,” he said.

Their current trial examines six seeding rates, ranging from nine plants per square foot, up to 39 plants per square foot, testing two newer varieties, Cold Front and Overdrive.

Cold Front is currently the highest-yielding winter wheat in Prairie trials, averaging 93 bushels per acre. That’s four bushels better than the next-closest varieties, tour attendees heard.

However, it carries only an intermediate rating for fusarium head blight resistance, a potential problem in the generally wetter climate of Manitoba.

Overdrive, meanwhile provides moderate resistance to the pathogen.

field-of-winter-wheat A field of winter wheat at the Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre in Carberry on Aug. 6, 2025. | Photo by Miranda Leybourne

Lower seeding rates show promise

Preliminary results from the Manitoba Crop Alliance’s on-farm trials last year showed promise for lower seeding rates. Across five trials taken to harvest, the lowest seeding rate was the top yielder in four of five locations, while the standard seeding rate ranked lowest in all trials.

“The lowest seeding rate, just in the savings on seed cost alone, was $28 an acre and, on average, it got about two bushels an acre more than the other ones,” Griffiths said.

Winter wheat’s strong tillering ability helps compensate for lower plant stands, with plants in thin stands producing eight to 10 tillers compared to two or three in standard seeding rates, the study also found.

Combines hit the field

This year’s crop of winter wheat, meanwhile, is coming off.

The latest provincial crop report, issued Aug. 12 by Manitoba Agriculture, noted that the cereal harvest has started in winter wheat and fall rye, with preliminary yields showing mixed results — depending on growing season conditions.

In the central region, preliminary winter cereal yields were described as poor in areas that received insufficient rainfall, particularly on sandy soils, though results were better than expected, the crop report stated.

Parts of Manitoba are currently struggling with another drought year, particularly in parts of the Interlake.

There, the province noted, preliminary winter wheat yields are coming in around 50 bushels per acre.

There had been recent rainfall across southern Manitoba, ranging from trace amounts to more than 145 millimetres in some areas. That temporarily paused harvest operations, but will benefit crops still developing, the province said.

About the author

Miranda Leybourne

Miranda Leybourne is a Glacier FarmMedia reporter based in Neepawa, Manitoba with eight years of journalism experience, specializing in agricultural reporting. Born in northern Ontario and raised in northern Manitoba, she brings a deep, personal understanding of rural life to her storytelling.

A graduate of Assiniboine College’s media production program, Miranda began her journalism career in 2007 as the agriculture reporter at 730 CKDM in Dauphin. After taking time off to raise her two children, she returned to the newsroom once they were in full-time elementary school. From June 2022 to May 2024, she covered the ag sector for the Brandon Sun before joining Glacier FarmMedia. Miranda has a strong interest in organic and regenerative agriculture and is passionate about reporting on sustainable farming practices. You can reach Miranda at [email protected].