A high crop yield will mean high nutrient removal from the soil.

Dr Jeff Schoenau, a professor of soil fertility in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan, says farmers will need to remember that in the spring. He notes farmers will want to think about doing a nutrient assessment in the fall.

"Every field is different, so it's important to make those kinds of assessments in different fields and different kinds of crop stubble on your farm. It's important to start to plan, and start to think about what the storage soil moisture situation will be in the fall."

Schoenau says it would be beneficial to do deeper soil tests of nitrate and sulphate, as they can move farther down into the subsoil, especially in a year where there is a lot of net downward leeching from precipitation during the growing season.