Seeding completion in Sask. draws near

Saskatchewan Agriculture

For the period May 12 -18 in Saskatchewan, seeding is progressing quickly.

Seeding progress in Saskatchewan more than doubled last week, thanks to minimal rainfall and few disruptions in field work. Fifty-one per cent of the crop has been planted, getting seeding progress on track with the five-year average of 51 per cent (2015-2019) for this time of year.

Seventy-four per cent of the crop is seeded in the southwest region. There is 59 per cent seeded in the west-central, 57 per cent seeded in the southeast, 38 per cent seeded in the northwest, 32 per cent seeded in the east-central and 26 per cent seeded in the northeast.

Eighty-two per cent of field peas, 78 per cent of lentils, 71 per cent of durum, 69 per cent of chickpeas, 51 per cent of spring wheat, 42 per cent of barley and 38 per cent of canola have been seeded to date. There was very little to no precipitation throughout all regions of the province last week. The Mayfair region received the highest amount of rainfall at 15 mm. Dry conditions allowed seeding to progress steadily for most producers. For producers with 2019 crop left to harvest, the lack of precipitation allowed them to get into fields that were previously too wet to combine. Limited precipitation and windy conditions throughout the province have slightly reduced topsoil moisture conditions.

Cropland topsoil moisture rated as two per cent surplus, 75 per cent adequate, 20 per cent short and three per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as one per cent surplus, 67 per cent adequate, 26 per cent short and six per cent very short.

Farmers have been busy seeding, spraying when it wasn’t windy, harrowing, combining the remaining 2019 crop, branding cattle and moving livestock out to pasture. Crop District 3ASW – Coronach, Assiniboia and Ogema areas; Crop District 3AN – Gravelbourg, Mossbank, Mortlach and Central Butte areas; Crop District 3B – Kyle, Swift Current , Shaunavon and Ponteix areas; Crop District 4 – Consul, Maple Creek and Leader areas Seventy-four per cent of the crop is seeded in the southwest, which is ahead the five-year average (20152019) of 66 per cent for this time of year. Eighty-six per cent of the field peas, 83 per cent of the canola, 81 per cent of the mustard, 79 per cent of the chickpeas, 73 per cent of the lentils, 72 per cent of the durum, 71 per cent of the barley, 69 per cent of the spring wheat, 57 per cent of the oats and 54 per cent of the flax has been seeded to date.

Windy conditions have resulted in soil drying and have prevented many farmers from spraying herbicides. There was minimal precipitation in the southwest region this week, ranging from none to 14 mm in some areas around Shaunavon. The Rockglen area received 13 mm of rain, the Admiral area five mm, the Consul area four mm, the Blumenhof area three mm, the Cabri area two mm and the Gull Lake area one mm.

Much of the crop has been seeded and some is starting to emerge. Rain would be welcome in most areas to support crop development and help green up the pastures. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as one per cent surplus, 69 per cent adequate, 27 per cent short and three per cent very short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as 68 per cent adequate, 25 per cent short and seven per cent very short.