Alfalfa crops in eastern Manitoba are advancing well, with most crops still in the late vegetative stage. Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) extension support person John McGregor says most crops in the area have grown about two inches over the past week.

However, in the western and central parts of the province, it's not so consistent. McGregor says some producers from western Manitoba are reporting similar conditions to alfalfa in the east, while others aren't as advanced.

"We also have some producers where it's a little bit cooler, where the alfalfa is still ten inches tall, which is too short for us to sample," he says.

McGregor notes some parts of the province saw frost last weekend, but fortunately, most alfalfa crops weren't damaged.

"What I'm seeing is, yes we had some frost, but the damage to the plants is just mostly some of the top leaves, and it hasn't affected the growth. We're seeing growth come out of the damaged area. So again, it's good news that the frost didn't affect the alfalfa," he says.

McGregor says it's still very early to be looking at the first cut, but he guesses the first cut could be in by the early June in eastern Manitoba.

"For the western (parts), again because some of those parts are a little bit delayed, they may go into the second week of June," McGregor says.

MFGA's first Green Gold report of the year was released earlier this week. The reports are available on the MFGA website.