Farmers not ready to begin seeding despite warmth, sunshine

Sunshine and warm weather has moved its way into Saskatchewan, but it might not sticking around for long.

April has seen above average temperatures, but that doesn’t mean farmers are racing to begin seeding.

Todd Lewis is the president of the Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan and farms just south of Gray, Sask. which is located 39 kilometres south of Regina.

He said Saskatchewan is a place where you can get a snow storm in the middle of April, so he doesn’t think many people will be seeding soon.

“It’s always tempered a little bit because Mother Nature can be pretty nice at the start of April but at the end of April things can change pretty quickly as well.”

Lewis explained the warm weather is helping dry out the land and get the spring harvest going for those with crop in the ground.

John Paul Cragg with Environment Canada agreed it’s not quite time to put away those snow shovels.

He said a low pressure system is moving into the province and in behind it will be colder air moving in over the weekend.

“By Sunday, with falling temperatures, we could actually even see some snow through central and southern Saskatchewan,” Cragg said.

Cragg said it’s still too early to tell what parts of the province will be hit the hardest by precipitation but says the northern areas will see rain as early as Friday.

He added the weather will begin to warm up again midway through next week.

Meanwhile, Lewis said end of April or beginning of May is typically when seeding begins.