As milder temperatures melt off the last of the snow in the fields across southeast Saskatchewan, producers like Dale Paslawski near Weyburn are getting ready for another season in the fields. While seeding is still a few weeks away, the conditions are shaping up nicely.
“We've melted off pretty good here,” Paslawski said. “It's been kind of a dragged-out spring. We didn't get as much runoff as I thought we would, but field conditions are looking absolutely perfect.”
Although ready to get back on the land, Paslawski expects to begin seeding around May 1. The remaining snowbanks in sheltered areas and the frozen ground are still holding things back slightly. For now, the focus is on preparation.
“A lot of producers, including myself, are starting to work on their machinery, getting it ready, seeds all cleaned, and just getting ready for spring here,” he said. “Some warm conditions really help get things going here. So it'll dry out quick.”
Paslawski stressed that beyond dryness, soil temperature plays a crucial role in timing the start of seeding.
“We like to get the soil temperature up around 3, 4 degrees, 5 degrees,” he explained. “It helps with germination and gets your crop off to a good start. If you seed in the cold soil, you've got a real delay in emergence of your seeds and your crop coming up.”
Seeding too early, he noted, could expose crops to seed diseases and soil pathogens—problems that are mitigated when soil is warmer and drier.
While the weather is front of mind, another challenge looming over the agriculture industry is global trade uncertainty. Tariffs from China on canola and potential American tariffs on other commodities have made headlines and sparked concern.
Despite the potential economic fallout, Paslawski says it's largely too late in the season to make major changes to seeding plans.
“We actually plan our field rotations probably well a year in advance,” he said. “So I haven’t changed any of my seeding program at all. And I think a lot of producers, you know, talking to a few guys, we just stick with our plan.”
For Paslawski and many others, sticking with crop rotations is not just habit, but part of a broader commitment to sustainable farming, managing insect pressure, crop and soil diseases through planned diversity in planting.
As for the tariffs themselves, Paslawski remains cautiously optimistic.
“This tariff thing kind of caught us here right towards spring. So, actually, all it did was just add a lot of stress… Myself personally, I don’t think a lot of these tariffs are actually going to go through,” he said. “I just think that the president is looking at going zero tariffs right across the world… some of these tariffs that are on the table are probably going to be watered down or non-existent.”
In the meantime, producers across the region are keeping their eyes on the skies and their hands on their equipment, readying for another growing season.