Spring showers brighten spirits of Saskatchewan farmers

A general rain fell in Saskatchewan and stalled seeding operations, but no one was complaining at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture kick-off to the crop reporting season southwest of Regina Thursday morning.

Agriculture Minister David Marit was at the Wood Farm south of Grand Coulee to share the first crop report of the 2024 seeding season. He reported that 12 per cent of the 2024 crop is now planted.

“Saskatchewan farmers are back in the field doing what they do best and, in many ways, better than anyone in the world,” Marit said. “Our producers have generated record agri-food exports for each of the past four years, growing crops with some of the world’s smallest carbon footprints compared to other competitive jurisdictions.”

Levi Wood said their farm has been dry but was more ‘drought adjacent’ the last few years and knows where near the level of dry others have experienced.

“When we started seeding this year, we had good moisture, but we certainly didn’t have a lot of moisture even in the subsoil if you dug down,” he said. “It really improves the potential of this year’s crop. When you’re talking about how it looks on a broad scope, it’s very, very positive here.”

On their 20,000-acre farm, the Wood family grows one-third of cereals, usually durum wheat, one-third of canola or an oilseed and one-third of pulse crops.

“Typically, our rotation relies heavily on red lentils, canola and durum wheat with a few other minor crops mixed in like flax and canary seed,” he said.

Marit said once the ground dries up in the next few days the farmers will be pushing hard. He encouraged everyone to stay safe and especially to be aware of farm equipment on the province’s roads.

“For the driving public, there is equipment on the road, it’s big equipment and slower moving so I want everyone to be aware of that. Farm safety is important for all of us and that includes farmers and their workers,” Marit added.