Southeast Moisture Adequate, But A Potential Concern In First Crop Report

 

A cool and late spring has delayed field work across the province.  However, seeding has started in the southern areas.  In most other areas, harrowing and pre-seeding herbicide and fertilizer applications are taking place.  Many producers will be seeding within the week.

 

"Most of our producers are still kind of waiting to get in the field. However, I think there has been a few seeders out in the field in the Estevan region this past week. I suspect things will probably become fairly general by the weekend and into next week," said Daphne Cruise, a Crop Extension Specialist with the provincial Agriculture Knowledge Center.

 

Field conditions vary greatly across the province.  The southern regions are dry and the northern and eastern regions are dealing with high field moisture.  Topsoil moisture on crop land is rated six per cent surplus, 64 per cent adequate, 20 per cent short and 10 per cent very short.  Topsoil moisture on hay land and pasture is rated as three per cent surplus, 63 per cent adequate, 28 per cent short and six per cent very short.  High winds are drying up the soil quickly.  The soil is slow to warm up and there is still snow and ice in some sloughs and ditches in the north.

 

"I think, in general, the southeast has adequate moisture to get the crop in the ground, germinated, and up and growing. As you move from Estevan more northwest toward Weyburn, we tend to see a little bit more dryer conditions, and so I think it's in the back of producer's minds, especially coming off the dry year we had last year. Definitely some timely rains are going to be needed in the next few weeks, especially if this warm weather and warm, high winds can continue, which doesn't help keep the topsoil moisture where we need it to be. It just tends to dry things out quicker."

 

"For the time being, I think we're fairly decent, but definitely maybe a concern going into the seeding weeks coming up," she noted.

 

Due to a low-yielding hay crop in 2017, an extended cold winter, and a slow start to spring, many livestock producers have turned to alternative feed sources and feed grains while they wait for the pastures to green up.

 

Spring runoff in the south was below normal in many areas, leaving some livestock producers looking at how to sustain water supplies throughout the upcoming grazing season. 

 

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.