By Angie Rolheiser

Farmers over half-way through seeding across the province

May 20, 2021 | 12:26 PM

MELFORT, Sask — Saskatchewan farmers have made great progress on seeding over the past week.

Crops extension specialist Matt Struthers said almost three quarters of seeding has been completed across the Saskatchewan grain belt.

“We are sitting at 74 per cent of the crop already seeded, well ahead of the five-year average of 48 per cent,” Struthers said.

The southwest is at 82 per cent and 79 per cent in the southeast, 77 per cent in the west-central and northwest regions while the northeast and east-central regions are on the lower end at 63 per cent.

“This past week, there wasn’t much rainfall, there was one very localized thunderstorm in the Tisdale area that amounted to about 25 millimeters of rain,” Struthers said.

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The Christopher Lake area received 13 millimeters and the Pelly area received 10 but very little else has fallen throughout the province.

Struthers said every little bit of rain can help with advancing crops as well when there is some cooler weather.

“When it is 30 degrees it is very hard for the soil to hold onto that moisture, so the next couple of cool days with some rain will help,” Struthers said. “It will relieve some of that heat stress and that dry condition stress on the crops that are coming up.”

There has not been much weed growth and farmers in many cases have delayed spraying.

“[The weeds] just aren’t growing so there hasn’t been much of a push to get out to spray, plus we have had some very windy days and you just can’t spray when it is super windy,” Struthers said.

Overall in the province, germination is poor and patchy so far.

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angie.rolheiser@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser