Seeding at above-average pace across the province
Start to 2015 ‘absolute exception’
Dry conditions across the province have allowed seeding to continue at an aboveaverage pace.
In its weekly crop report released Thursday, the Ministry of Agriculture said 64 per cent of the 2015 crop is now seeded. The five-year (2010-14) average for this time of year is 24 per cent seeded.
Seeding in the southwest is most advanced with 86 per cent seeded. The westcentral region has 72 per cent seeded, followed by the northwestern region with 68 per cent seeded.
The southeast region has 66 per cent seeded and both the east-central and northeastern regions have 42 per cent seeded.
Daphne Cruise, crop management specialist for the agriculture ministry, said the dry weather this spring is the reason producers are ahead of seeding averages from past years.
“With the weather we’ve been having and the earlier spring we’ve had, producers were able to get a little bit of a jump-start compared to the last several years,” said Cruise.
Brent Dunnigan, who has farmed near Alameda for 54 years, said he has about 85 per cent of his crop in the ground.
“This year has been an absolute exception,” said Dunnigan. “I would say it’s because of the little precipitation (in our area).”
Topsoil moisture conditions are rated as 10 per cent surplus, 68 per cent adequate, 20 per cent short and two per cent very short.
Topsoil moisture ratings for hay land and pasture are similar with eight per cent surplus, 67 per cent adequate, 19 per cent short and six per cent very short.
While moisture conditions vary across the province, Cruise said the ministry hasn’t heard of many producers stopping seeding because of moisture conditions or lack thereof.
“But there have been some that have indicated the emergence is fairly spotty, just because that topsoil layer has dried out,” said Cruise. “There is moisture down two or three inches, but we do need that topsoil to stay moist so that the crop can germinate fairly well and get a fairly even emergence.”
Cool weather over the last few weeks has also delayed germination in many areas.
“When it comes to the cool conditions ... we’re maybe not any more ahead than we would have been because things are slow to emerge. The thing that most producers are watching for now is any kind of frost damage that may have happened over the last several nights,” said Cruise.
In terms of getting seed into the ground, Cruise believes things will continue to go “fairly well.”
“If we can get some good weather here, and it looks like we will in the next week, producers can cover a lot of ground in short order,” said Cruise.