Farmers In The Field As Seeding Begins In The Province

May 02, 2022

In what could be one of the most expensive crops that farmers on the prairies have ever planted, many are contending with the weather again as they begin seeding.

In southern Manitoba and southeast Saskatchewan, too much snow and rain over the past few weeks, has turned some fields into lakes. Farmers in those regions are grateful for the moisture after last year's drought, but it could be a while before some can even venture into their soggy fields to plant a crop.

In south eastern Alberta, which didn't benefit from any those storms last month, fields are very dry. Some central areas got about an inch of rain from storms last week and with daytime highs expected to reach the 20's by the middle of this week, no doubt many farmers will begin seeding. The mini heatwave in the forecast this week, likely won't last long and Drew Lerner with World Weather Inc forecasts a pretty good chance of some early spring moisture across the southern prairies possibly starting next weekend.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.