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.