Businesses in the region surrounding Weyburn report their activities have been average to above-average compared to the same period in the past, with seeding activities and the resurgence in the oil industry as factors.

At Fill-More Seeds, president Blair Stewart said their business in the last month or two has been at the usual level found at seeding time, when many farmers who would be bringing them grain to sell are in the fields planting right now.

"We're still staying busy enough for this time of the year. Our busy time is usually from September through to March or April," he said.

The rejuvenated oil sector has helped out businesses in the Midale area, including at the Qwik Stop convenience store, said co-owner Caroline MacDonald.

"It's been busy all winter, much better than last year. If I had to compare to a year ago, it's been substantially busier, because of the oil. There's been drilling rigs and the repair rigs; it's getting busier all the time," she said.

At the Heritage Breadbasket in Lang, owner Helen McCormick said her business is usually quite busy in spring and summer, and this year is no exception.

"As soon as seeding starts we're very busy, and it will be like that until the end of December," she said, adding she has been getting busier every year, attributing her success to word-of-mouth and their reputation for good service.

Sales have continued fairly steadily at Nelson Motors in Radville, said store manager Frank Tuchscherer.

"Generally the sales haven't been too bad. We've been selling a lot of our lower-priced items," he said, adding this spring is a lot closer to the long-term average for activity. Last spring at this time, he said seeding was just barely getting started, if at all.

"If the commodity prices come back up, things will get pretty busy here. You have to keep a sense of optimism about these things," said Tuchscherer.

Seeding has had the opposite effect at the Radville Pharmacy, said front store manager Barb DeRoose, noting that on a sunny, warm seeding day they get very slow.

Comparing business to a year ago, she said the pharmacy is quite a bit busier this year, mostly due to the location of a new doctor couple to Radville over the winter.