Some Saskatchewan farmers excited for extra moisture to kick off seeding

Some farmers are feeling good about the start of seeding in Saskatchewan.

Rustie Sobchuk farms outside of Lang, just south of Regina, along with her husband Brendan. The start of seeding was delayed on their farm, as it was across much of the province. But during an appearance on The Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday, Rustie said they are a week into seeding and are feeling excited about the moisture levels in the soil.

Read more:

• Sask. Agriculture Ministry hopeful as seeding kicks off for 2026
• Just three per cent of Saskatchewan’s 2026 crop in the ground: Agriculture ministry
• Drought fears linger as seeding begins on southwest Saskatchewan farms

Listen to the full interview or read the transcript below:

The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

GREG MORGAN: When did you start seeding?

RUSTIE SOBCHUK: We started on May 4, so just a little bit ago.

Is that much later than this time last year, or no?

SOBCHUK: If we were in the middle of April, I would have said that we were picking April 26 or 27 to start seeding, but with all that cold weather and the snow and the moisture, it didn’t happen for us. So yeah, it is a little bit later than last year. We started around April 28, so we were kind of banking on that last week in April, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen. We started on May 4.

I would imagine the dugouts are pretty full, but were the fields and the soil conditions alright?

SOBCHUK: It’s a really good year. We are south of Regina, and I feel the majority of the south and southeast are feeling really good with the moisture levels. Every RM dugout is full, every farm dugout seems to be full, and when you put the seed into the ground and you go behind the drill and dig it up, you’re planting it into a really good moisture base, so I think that is a positive start. Now, that is not everywhere in the province, but for us it is an exciting start.

Ahead of the growing season, were you watching the markets closely and adapting before seeding? Or were you already set?

SOBCHUK: Already set and doing what I think most farmers are doing, just crossing our fingers, hoping for pristine weather, great rain, some sunshine, not too hot a July. Hoping the weather would be good for the season and then, of course, everything in this landscape of the political field, prices and all of that. Going into the season we sort of pre-purchased everything and had a really big plan at the end of last year. This year, it will be interesting. I think there isn’t anything you can do right now, because we have everything we need for this growing season and for the upcoming spraying season and so on. But I think there will be a lot of questions around every farm table heading into July and August when you’re thinking about your crop rotation, what you’re going to grow, what you’re going to order, maybe you change up some crop rotations simply because of prices or no changes with what’s happening in this political landscape. I think right now it’s just go time, and that is really the mentality for most farmers. But I think in a couple of months things will be a little different.

It is a busy time of year. What is it like typically during the week?

SOBCHUK: It’s busy, I will say, coming off of Mother’s Day weekend, especially if you are a farm mom. I think some of the moms are like “Oh, it’s Mother’s Day” and we are just taking out more meals into the field or driving the kids to their next extracurricular. It’s a tricky time, because all of the sports are happening, and you are kind of just managing the schedule, managing the food, making sure everything is fine on the farm, seeing if you need to lend a hand. It is a circus.

Are you on a two-way radio that says “We’re going to stop here for lunch,” or how does that work?

SOBCHUK: There are radios in every piece of equipment: the air drill, the sprayer, the semis, the trucks, the house, the shop. The kids play on it. There are numerous times you will see me driving my vehicle, and then I will just yell, “throw the cooler out,” and then I will slow down, and my son will drop the cooler into the ditch, and we will carry on to our next extracurricular.

What is on the menu this time of year?

SOBCHUK: We have a chat in our community about great new seeding and harvest recipes. You typically have a binder or a recipe book, which is very old school, and you keep all the ones that are tried and true. Recently our kid goes to school and says “My mom made this cowboy caserole,” and then my neighbour texts me and says “Hey, what is a cowboy casserole?”

What is a cowboy casserole?

SOBCHUK: I will tell you in a nutshell what it is, and you will think “Ew, not good,” but it is ground beef, onions, garlic, corn, mushroom soup, a couple of other spices and some cheese, then you bake it with tater tots. You layer the tater tots on top with cheese then you bake them. It is called cowboy casserole, and it is a hit. It’s a five-star recipe.

Seeding is underway. When do you think you will be done?

SOBCHUK: We are hoping to be done within a week. I’m hoping that my husband and I can have a celebratory beer on the deck on Monday of the long weekend.