Farmers around Davidson may finally be able to get into the field this week to begin spring planting, but that is only if Mother Nature abides.

Davidson farmer Kevin Farden said producers are facing cool and wet conditions and the start of seeding this year really depends on how much heat the area gets in the next little while. He said the sloughs are “just huge right now” because the frost hasn’t come out of the bottom of them yet, so farmers first need some warmer weather to help the water drain.

“I think within a week there’ll be some action hopefully,” said Farden. “We have some land at the Outlook area and we’re hoping to maybe start over there (this week), but it also depends on the soil temperature and how things progress with the heat.”

Farden said the late start this spring is similar to what farmers experienced last year and that actually seems to be the trend over the past few years. He said seeding beginning later in the year hasn’t changed their planting intentions, but the grain backlog in the western provinces has.

“I’d say we’ve cut back on our wheat because we have a lot of wheat in the bin still,” he said. “We’ve cut back on our acres we’re going to plant to that and some cereals I guess for that reason.”

Shannon Friesen, regional crop specialist with the Agriculture Knowledge Centre, said they’ve heard from producers and crop reporters around the province that there may be quite a few more soybean acres going in this year along with more flax and canola. She said that has to do with producers not being able to move grain, so farmers are thinking about other crops they’d like to seed and harvest this year.

“Certainly we may see some decreased acres (of wheat), but of course there is still some time,” said Friesen. “If the ground remains wet we may see those cereal acres go up a little bit because you can seed them a bit later and still have plenty of time for a good harvest.”

Friesen said dry field peas seem to be “gaining a stronghold” again this year after many producers moved away from the crop in the last couple years. She said peas are a fairly easy crop to grow, so there seems to be a renewed interest in it.

Another crop that may be gaining acreage this year appears to be feed corn. Friesen said there is more interest in corn not only for seed, but also on the grain side and Saskatchewan producers have seemed “interested” in it for the last couple years.

To read more  please see the May 12 print edition of The Davidson Leader.