photos courtesy of Lisa Jeffers-Cowling

 

Anyone driving around the foothills lately has probably seen that seeding is already underway.

The Ag Specialist with the Foothills MD Jeff Porter says the dry spring has helped get a jump on seeding.

"Moisture conditions were good early on and that, things are definitely drying out here by the day with all the winds and temperatures we've had," he says. "Guys around here are about 80 per cent done. The weekend will see a lot of guys wrap seeding up, for sure."

He says depending on the rotations individual farmers use, canola is expected to be a big crop again along with barley and wheat.

Porter says for now there's no great need for rain.

"Crops are emerging and that, there's enough sub-surface moisture down there, most places I've been digging around the moisture's anywhere from two to three inches deep where you start hitting some moist soil," he says. "As long as there's enough to get that seed germinating and get some roots going, but yeah, the more wind that we have and the warmer temperatures, we're definitely going to need moisture here fairly soon."

He says once crops are in the thee and four-leaf stage, we're going to need moisture badly before it starts to affect yields.