Day time highs and night time lows are moving in the right direction for farmers hoping to start seeding over the next few weeks.

The normal high for this time of the year is 14 degrees and the normal low plus 2.

Darren Chapman farms in the Virden area and says right now conditions look pretty good. “Like last year we’re into May and waiting for the ground to warm up and dry out so we’re starting with moisture for sure.”

The Assiniboine River spilled its banks and then receded, and Darren Chapman says it left a lot of branches and twigs that need to be cleared out of the lower lying areas.

 

“I’d like to see the soil temperature around that nine or 10-degree mark before we start seeding. I’m hoping to get onto the land around May 9th or 10th,” said Chapman.

This year’s crop on Chapman’s land will consist of wheat, oats and barley. “Soybeans haven’t been part of our rotation for a while, and we dropped corn a few years ago. So, no big changes.”