Saskatchewan flooding puts spring seeding behind schedule

Flooded fields are causing frustration for some Saskatchewan farmers as spring seeding gets delayed. Stacey Hein reports.

Flooded fields and washed-out roads are creating major challenges for some Saskatchewan farmers as the seeding season falls behind.

Ryan Scragg, a farmer in the R.M. of Garden River, said flooding has already put him about two weeks behind on seeding.

“It’s been very stressful,” Scragg said. “The uncertainty of not knowing when we will get to get going.”

He said it is shaping up to be one of the latest starts of his farming career and is hoping to begin seeding next week. He added the latest he can have crop in is the end of the first week of June, with crop insurance deadlines falling in mid-June.

The most recent crop report said spring seeding had been delayed in parts of the province hit hard by flooding and spring runoff. So far, just three per cent of the 2026 crop had been planted, well behind the five-year average.

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Flooding has also created challenges for livestock producers.

“Having to move cows during calving season and try to find high ground for the cows. It’s a problem throughout my R.M. and neighboring R.M.s,” Scragg said.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, 34 communities across Saskatchewan had issued states of emergency, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.

Agriculture Minister David Marit said he plans to meet with municipalities in the Melfort-Tisdale area this weekend, calling the situation devastating.

“Hopefully the water starts to recede. We know that there’s probably still another peak to come in the northeast part of the province that is going to obviously bring some challenges with it as well,” Marit told reporters Thursday.

Scragg said the flooding could create long-term challenges, with many rural roads washed out.

“Even once the fields are ready, we might not have roads that are capable of supporting our equipment and our trucks and all the things we need to actually get the product to the field to put a crop in,” he said.

He said drivers may need to be patient as farmers detour around damaged areas, leading to more farm equipment on highways and grid roads.