Significant seeding progress was made this past week. Thirty-four per cent of the 2015 crop is now seeded, according to the Saskatchewan Agriculture Crop Report. The five-year (2010-2014) average for this time of year is nine per cent seeded.

Producers in the southwest are most advanced, with 61 per cent of the crop seeded. In the southeast, 45 per cent is seeded; the west-central region has 26 per cent seeded; the east-central region 16 per cent, the northeastern region 13 per cent and northwestern region has 31 per cent seeded.

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are rated as 10 per cent surplus, 76 per cent adequate and 14 per cent short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as six per cent surplus, 74 per cent adequate, 16 per cent short and four per cent very short. Moisture conditions vary throughout the province.

In parts of the southwestern and west-central regions, some moisture would be beneficial to get crops off to a good start. Some areas in the southeast and in the east-central region, however, still have surplus moisture. Cool weather has resulted in slow emergence of crops. Some farmers have reported frost damage to emerged crops and alfalfa.

East-Central Saskatchewan (Crop District 5 – Melville, Yorkton, Cupar, Kamsack, Foam Lake, Preeceville and Kelvington areas; Crop District 6A – Lumsden, Craik, Watrous and Clavet areas)

Sixteen per cent of the 2015 crop is in the ground. Although seeding is progressing, spotty rain showers over most of the region resulted in short seeding days. Producers are spending time traveling between fields, testing them out to make sure the soil is capable of holding equipment. Seeding ranges from five to 75 per cent complete. Precipitation ranged from nil to 15 mm (Watrous area). A large amount of water is lying in many fields, making road access an issue.

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are reported as 22 per cent surplus, 73 per cent adequate and five per cent short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as 16 per cent surplus, 75 per cent adequate and nine per cent short. CD 6A is reporting that 34 per cent of cropland has surplus topsoil moisture.

Temperatures dipped well below freezing for some areas, but fortunately, most seeded crops have yet to emerge. Producers are indicating that there has been some frost damage to alfalfa. There are a couple of reports of farmers finishing up last fall’s harvest. Warm weather would be appreciated by all.

Fourteen per cent of the 2015 crop is in the ground, according to the Saskatchewan Agriculture Crop Report. The five-year (2010-2014) average for this time of year is two per cent seeded.

Thanks to the dry weather in the southwest, farmers in that region have 34 per cent of the 2015 crop in the ground. In the rest of the province, seeding has started for most farmers. In the southeast, producers have 14 per cent seeded; west-central producers have eight per cent seeded; northwestern producers seven per cent; east-central producers three per cent and northeastern producers two per cent. In some areas of the province, spotty rain showers throughout the week have caused some delay in seeding.

Thirty-two percent of the field peas have been seeded, 29 per cent of the lentils, 33 per cent of the mustard, 25 per cent of the durum and eight per cent of the spring wheat and canola.

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are rated as 16 per cent surplus, 74 per cent adequate and 10 per cent short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as eight per cent surplus, 75 per cent adequate, 14 per cent short and three per cent

East-Central Saskatchewan (Crop District 5 – Melville, Yorkton, Cupar, Kamsack, Foam Lake, Preeceville and Kelvington areas; Crop District 6A – Lumsden, Craik, Watrous and Clavet areas)

Seeding is just getting underway for farmers in the region, which has three per cent of the 2015 crop seeded. Rain showers were reported across most of the region, resulting in short seeding days. Precipitation ranged from nil to 13 mm (Abernethy area). Crop District 5A has seven per cent seeded; 5B one per cent and 6A two per cent. A large amount of water is lying in many fields and there has been some localized flooding of roads, limiting access to fields in some areas.

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are reported as 30 per cent surplus and 70 per cent adequate. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as 19 per cent surplus, 79 per cent adequate and two per cent short. CD 6A is reporting that 36 per cent of cropland has surplus topsoil moisture.

Farmers are busy pre-working fields, applying fertilizer and seeding. There are a couple of reports of farmers picking up harvest from where they left off last fall.

One year ago Cold temperatures with significant moisture events delayed spring seeding. Seeding had just started in some areas in the southwest.

Follow the 2015 Crop Report on Twitter @SKAgriculture

In history The provincial 20 year (1995 – 2014) average seeding progress for the last week in April is just under two per cent seeded.  Six per cent was seeded within the first week in May.

Saskatchewan farmers are in the field, seeding, harrowing and controlling weeds. Two per cent of the 2015 crop is in the ground. The five-year (2010-2014) average for this time of year is less than one per cent.

Producers in the southwest have been seeding for a couple of weeks already, and have seven per cent of the crop in. Some areas in the southwest are reporting 20 per cent seeded. Significant rain and snow over the weekend, particularly in areas of the central and northern regions, have delayed seeding and field work. Most producers are hoping to be in the field again at the start of next week.

The southeastern region has four per cent seeded. All other regions have very little, if any, crop in the ground to date.

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are rated as 20 per cent surplus, 76 per cent adequate and four per cent short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as 11 per cent surplus, 80 per cent adequate and nine per cent short.

Pasture conditions are rated as 12 per cent excellent, 53 per cent good, 26 per cent fair and nine per cent poor. Some pastures have excess moisture or are slow to green up.

Areas in the eastern regions are reporting excess moisture. Precipitation during the past week varied across the province, with some central regions reporting 75 mm. Areas in the north reported receiving up to 20 cm of snow. Weather has generally been good for spring calving.

East-Central Saskatchewan (Crop District 5 – Melville, Yorkton, Cupar, Kamsack, Foam Lake, Preeceville and Kelvington areas; Crop District 6A – Lumsden, Craik, Watrous and Clavet areas)

Cold temperatures and wet weather are delaying seeding in most of the east-central region. A large amount of water is lying in many fields, and there has been some localized flooding of secondary roads, which limits access to some areas. Crop reporters are indicating that general seeding may not begin for at least another week or more.

The region reported varying amounts of precipitation this week, ranging from nil to 75 mm in the Bradwell area. This area has also received the greatest amount of precipitation since April 1 (80 mm). The northern area of CD 6A received snow as well.

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are reported as 44 per cent surplus and 56 per cent adequate. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as 30 per cent surplus and 70 per cent adequate. CD 6A is reporting that 61 per cent of cropland and 46 per cent of hay land and pasture have surplus topsoil moisture.

Pasture conditions are rated as five per cent excellent, 41 per cent good, 34 per cent fair, 17 per cent poor and three per cent very poor. Excess moisture and cool conditions are delaying pasture growth.

Farmers are busy working on equipment, controlling weeds, putting down anhydrous ammonia fertilizer and waiting to seed. There are a couple of reports of farmers picking up harvest from where they left off last fall.