Seeding delayed, but farmers hopeful

WINNIPEG — Yes, April has been a cold month on the Prairies.

Data from Environment Canada shows that the average daily high in Yorkton, Sask., was only 2.6 C for the first 28 days of April.

The mean temperature for the month in Yorkton, so far, was minus 2.2 C.

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Those temperatures are way below normal for a typical April.

In an average year, if that exists, the normal daily high for Yorkton in April would be 8.7 C.

So, April of 2026 has been six degrees cooler than typical in Yorkton.

Gordon Moellenbeck, who farms west of Yorkton near Englefeld, Sask., said the chilly spring is easy to notice.

As of April 29, many of of his fields were still covered with snow.

“About 70 to 80 percent white, still. (But) the next couple of days it (should) change,” he said.

Moellenbeck and his family typically begin seeding May 10-14.

If the sun comes out and temperatures climb into the teens, they should be seeding in a couple of weeks.

“I’m hopeful of (May) 15 to 20,” he said, adding sunshine is needed to warm up the soil.

“That’s probably my biggest concern … is how much sun we’re going to get the next couple of weeks.”

Moellenbeck runs two seeders on his 5,000 acre farm. If cool and wet weather lingers into May, the equipment might come in handy this spring.

Further south, in Broadview, Sask., Jocelyn Velestuk isn’t panicking about the lack of seeding activity.

The low spots on her farm in eastern Saskatchewan are still wet, and getting the tractor stuck remains a risk.

But Velestuk, chair of SaskWheat, believes they could be seeding in several days, or a week.

“Canola, maybe, we need to wait for the soil to warm up,” she said.

“With wheat, we can go any time. As soon as we can get into the fields.”

Last year, in late April, a snowstorm hit Broadview and other towns close to Velestuk’s farm, so she’s feeling relatively hopeful.

In 2025, however, many farmers were seeding by April 30.

The Saskatchewan crop report for the end of April and first days of May in 2025 said 18 percent of the crop was in the ground.

Source: producer.com