Spring seeding will likely not get off to an early start, according to the president of World Weather Inc.
Drew Lerner says he's expecting a slow snow melt and cooler-than-normal temperatures well into spring.
"The biggest concern is we're going to get started rather slow this year, with our soil temperatures being low and a slow snow melt," he says. "If you're looking for consistent warm weather, we're probably going to have to wait until later in April into May. Even then the eastern portion of the prairies will run the risk of cold shots coming across the region."
That raises some concern about late season frosts, notes Lerner.
"We may see these even in June, but I think it's going to be difficult to have a large number of areas getting seed in the ground early," he says.
Lerner is also forecasting a drier bias through spring and summer.
"I think we'll see some timeliness in precipitation, but we'll probably have a below average bias on the amounts of rain," he says. "That might not be a bad thing as long as we are slow in melting the snow so it gets into the topsoil and helps provide a little moisture base for us as we go into the warmer months."
So what does this mean when choosing crops or varieties to grow in 2014?
"If you're debating between a crop that has a larger moisture demand versus one that does not, I would suggest leaning toward the drier crop, the one that needs a little bit less moisture," says Lerner. "I would also wave a little caution flag about some of the longer season crops that we've become comfortable with."
Source: Saskatchewan Pulse