Planting a seed—or a crop—is the ultimate expression of optimism.
There’s reason for Lakeland farmers to be optimistic this spring as seeding continues. As of Sunday the work of planting the 2025 crop was ahead of schedule, with 75 per cent of seeding complete.
“We’re a little bit ahead of average,” said Sarah Davis, grain market consultant and owner of Lloydminster-based Limit Up Grain Marketing. “The Bonnyville region has been receiving a lot more moisture than is typical for this time of year so for them it’s been a bit of a slower start.”
Again this year the Lakeland has been spared the drought conditions that have affected other regions across the prairies and into the U.S. Rainfall will vary from one farm to another, Davis says, but overall precipitation has been good this spring and soil moisture is encouraging.
“It’s the same old story—you might get two inches but a mile down the road, there was nothing. That’s typical,” she said. Sub-surface soil moisture in Alberta is good to excellent at 89 per cent, but while some local farmers had to wait a bit to get onto the fields, those nearer Lloydminster and further south “are going to need more [rain] quite soon.”
The outlook for commodity prices is a factor in deciding what to grow. Davis said international market forces, including unpredictable tariff measures from the U.S., had some growers thinking twice about their crop rotations. Many were considering switching out of canola acres and
into wheat acres, she said. Potentially softer international demand for
peas also entered into planting decisions.
“The canola price has rebounded. I haven’t heard of anybody actually cancelling their seed orders and changing plans. Most people just went full steam ahead with their crop rotation as they normally would. And it seems like the tariff situation has gone off on the sidelines now and isn’t as big of a deal,” Davis said.
“We’re looking like a friendlier option for exports now than we may have been a month ago.”
So far the long-term weather outlook appears favourable for Lakeland growers. Local conditions are predicted to be normal (“it’s tough to pinpoint what ‘normal’ is anymore,” Davis says), while drought is a major concern in other regions including the U.S. and China. This could bring higher prices this fall.
And so some optimism is justified, and Davis says seeding time is the season for it.
“Farmers tend to be on the optimistic side, especially during seeding,” she said. “Things are getting off to a good start. The green that’s poking through the ground is exciting, it looks great, and that makes people more optimistic.”
