Saskatchewan farmers wrapping up seeding operations

Seeding is nearly complete in Saskatchewan.

According to the weekly crop report from the Ministry of Agriculture, 98 per cent of the crop is in the ground in areas where seeding was possible.

The ministry said some fields in eastern Saskatchewan were too wet to seed and, with recent rains, those fields likely won’t be seeded this year.

That rain caused minor to serious flooding in some areas, but was welcome in other regions where fields were dry.

“In the west, the rain will hopefully allow crops to recover from the drought conditions, but due to the localized nature of the rainfall, much of the western regions will need more widespread rains soon to keep crops from failing,” the report said.

“Some areas received hail over the past week. Damage is currently unknown since many crops have not yet emerged, but enough hail was received in some areas to make it appear as if it had snowed.”

That was the case last Thursday in the Grand Coulee area.

An area north of Rosetown got the most rain during the week, with more than 125 millimetres falling Monday alone. According to the ministry, most of the water in that area soaked into the ground due to dry conditions.

The rain helped improve topsoil moisture conditions in the province. Cropland topsoil moisture now is rated at seven per cent surplus, 65 per cent adequate, 19 per cent short and nine per cent very short, while hay and pasture land is rated as six per cent surplus, 61 per cent adequate, 24 per cent short and nine per cent very short.

“For some hay fields in drier areas, the rain might have come too late and the hay crop may not be ready for first cut in a couple of weeks,” the report said. “In areas where moisture was abundant, the crops look very good.”

More relief available

The provincial government has announced relief through the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) for farmers who suffered major losses due to the spring storms that battered the province.

“We recognize the impact these storms have had on Saskatchewan’s agricultural producers, especially those who have lost livestock as a result,” Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell said in a media release. “This supplemental initiative will help Saskatchewan producers who did not originally qualify for support under the existing program.”

The program will help those with more than $2 million in gross revenues. It will be available to farming operations that were affected by storms in April but didn’t qualify under the original PDAP revenue restrictions.

“These programs are not intended to compete with private insurers or to provide full compensation to those who incur a substantial loss or damage to property,” the release added.

Anyone who applied for the initial PDAP program due to the April storms will automatically be considered for the supplement and won’t need to apply separately.

More information is available by calling PDAP at 1-866-632-4033 or visiting this website.