LAKELAND - With the snow long gone from area fields, farmers are gearing up for the busy spring seeding ahead. While concerns for a possible drought weigh heavy on the minds of many, the seed still has to go in the ground in the coming weeks.
“You’ve got to stay positive and get going,” Ron Wirsta, manager of the St. Paul Municipal Seed Cleaning Plant, said Thursday. “If you stay behind, you won’t get seeding until the 20 of May, which puts you behind for the whole year. Most of the guys want to stay ahead of the game and get stuff in the ground.”
Having walked some fields earlier that morning, Wirsta said conditions were perfect for seeding. The fields have dried up quickly and what snow there was, has gone straight into the ground with no runoff this year.
However, the high winds experienced last week were not helping with keeping moisture in the soil. While dry conditions are needed during spring seeding, timely rainfall is also needed to spur germination and give the crops a good start early on in the growing season.
Wirsta said there is some worry among area producers as they gear up for the planting season.
“They are nervous about the conditions going into their spring. Lots of comments about how dry it is, how dry the water table is right now.”
There’s not much farmers can do about the input costs as they have no choice but to spend the money to get the seed in the ground and give it the best start possible in hope of reaping the rewards come harvest. However, Wirsta said there is more interest in choosing more drought-resistant crops like peas and wheat. He expects to see increasing acres in the region for both crops.
“Those are my two biggest products that are being processed and getting ready for planting right now.”
“Canola acres will stay the same other than maybe a few coming out to go into some pulses. Yellow peas have picked up in price the last two weeks coming off combine so that’s made some guys maybe change a few acres to yellow peas,” Wirsta said of the strong overseas market.
Wirsta said farmers are looking for soil temperatures in the five-to-seven-degree range, maintained through the overnight, for optimal seeding. Pea crops can go in the ground sooner. The seed is less susceptible to cooler temperatures and will stay dormant in the ground until the ground warms up.
“Primarily, everybody waits until it’s about 5 degrees and it’s usually going to hold that through the night.”
Agriculture moisture update
The provincial agriculture moisture situation update for April 17 described the northeast and Peace regions as being in a below normal moisture pattern, while the southern part of the province, south of Red Deer, had benefited from spring snowfall in recent weeks.
“These areas had very little snow coverage this spring and emerged dry from winter’s grip,” the report says of the Northeast and Peace regions. “Snow melt runoff is a very important source of surface water for streams, lakes, rivers, dugouts, wetlands, etc. and it simply did not occur. In the absence of early rains pastures, winter wheat, and native vegetation also rely on snow melt moisture as they break dormancy. Moisture will be needed very soon in these areas.”
Spring rain will be a critical factor in replenishing the water table in the northeast.
“Usually, ample rains in May and June result in widespread runoff and swell rivers, so there is still time to see surface water supplies rebound if the late spring and early summer rains come like they usually do,” the report states with some optimism for the months ahead.
“With several years of dry conditions prevailing across many areas we are long due a wet cycle. Wet years are very important for replenishing deep moisture reserves and critical for keeping the land more resilient to drought.”
