Drought fears linger as seeding begins on southwest Saskatchewan farms

Seeding season is underway across parts of Saskatchewan, but for farmers in the drought-stricken southwest, optimism in short supply.

After a winter that brought little moisture and a spring that has so far swung wildly between warm temperatures and sudden snowstorms, producers are finally getting equipment into the fields. But many farmers say conditions are far from ideal, and what happens next could determine whether or not they’re able to stay afloat.

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“We’ve got decent top moisture, I would say, for seeding conditions at this point in time, but we don’t have an abundance of subsoil moisture,” said Quinton Jacksteit, the reeve of the RM of Big Stick.

“We’re going to need some good summer moisture for this to be a successful year.”

Jacksteit said while recent snow has helped bring moisture levels up slightly, it hasn’t been enough to make up for years of dry conditions below the surface.

“It really wasn’t that significant. We didn’t have an abundance of moisture,” he said.

Jacksteit said the conditions heading into this year’s growing season look very similar to last year, which is raising concerns for many farmers in the region. He said winter crops came in well last year, but there wasn’t enough moisture to keep them growing in the spring.

“About a month and a half into the growing season, they were writing our winter crops off already,” Jacksteit explained.

He said the uncertainty producers are experiencing is being compounded by ongoing financial pressure, which has only worsened after nearly a decade of drought.

“Now if you’re in crop insurance, you’re taking a loss on your farm, and it’s pretty hard to avoid that,” he said. “Our average yields have continued to drop, and grain prices are down too, so your coverage is less but your costs are still there.”

He said current support programs aren’t built to handle so many bad years.

“In our situation, where you’ve had like nine bad years, AgriStability don’t work,” Jacksteit said. “We’re dependent on crop insurance, and it’s just simply not enough to keep farmers out of financial difficulty.”

The long-term impact is already being felt across the region. Jacksteit said some producers are choosing to step away from farming altogether, opting to rent out their land rather than continue operating at a loss.

“There’s been land for sale, but you’re not seeing young farmers in our area being able to buy this land when it comes available,” Jacksteit said. “That’s how a family farm continues, and that’s how they’re lost.”

He added that rising equipment costs and market uncertainty are also making it harder for producers to plan for the future.

“On the farm, no matter what we do, everybody’s telling us what it’s going to cost,” Jacksteit said. “And when we go to sell our product, they’re telling us what we’re going to get as well, so we’ve got no control over anything in the market.”

Despite the challenges, Jacksteit said farmers in his area are moving ahead with seeding, hoping for a turnaround after years of difficult conditions.

“We’re going to fight through it for another year, and we’re going to hope for the best, like we do every year,” Jacksteit said.

“But you can only take so much, and then there’s just nothing left at the end of the day.”

As planting continues, producers say the success of this season and the future of many farms now depends on how much rain arrives in the months ahead.