Weyburn and area producers are preparing to get on their fields very soon to begin preparation for seeding, or for seeding itself, as area soils warm up quickly.

With the spring snow melt done or almost done in most areas of the southeast, the melt has provided what farmers hope will be a good start to the spring.

"The immediate surface conditions are not bad. We had this wonderful snow melt that soaked right into the ground," said agrologist Elaine Moats.

As last fall was extremely dry at the subsoil level, she added, there was little or no frost this spring, and subsequently in some areas there is nothing to hold the moisture or keep it from just soaking right down to the bedrock or to an underground water source.

"Farmers might want to get in the fields as soon as they can, but of course it all depends on the weather," said Moats.

One of the first farmers in the area to be out cultivating was Eldon Strawford in the Trossachs-Grassdale area west of Weyburn. Reached Monday, he said he's cultivated 80 acres of stubble in the last week, turning it into summerfallow. He estimated he's about two weeks early to be out in his fields.

The land in the Trossachs area is known as hardpan clay soil, so the earlier he can get on it in the spring the better, said Strawford, noting that by May 1 it's already starting to bake hard.

Asked how the spring melt went, Strawford replied, "The runoff was just ideal. It filled a dugout, some ran off and the rest went into the ground. But on our type of land, we're only 10 days away from a drought. We're really dependent on a good spring."

He cleaned his seeds last fall, both malt barley and red spring wheat, so they're ready to go. He said he usually waits for the soil to warm up, and by around May 10 or so he expects to be out seeding.

Out northeast of Weyburn in the Creelman area, producer John Van Staveren said as things stand now, he hopes to be out seeding by the last week of April or so.

"There was very little runoff, and we've got good subsoil moisture. There's going to be very few potholes because of that. Hopefully we'll get some good rain. There's good moisture for a start," he said.

He hopes to start early with such crops as peas, lentils and canola, and later he'll seed durum, canaryseed and flax, with possibly some spring wheat as well.

"We've got most of the seed cleaned and we're getting the equipment ready right now," said Van Staveren, adding he had been out in a field on Monday picking rocks.

From the condition of the fields in his area, he thinks seeding time is not very far away.

"It'll happen pretty quickly. The fields are dry enough on the surface to move around," he said, estimating people will be out applying fertilizer or herbicides within the next week or two.

Moats agreed, suggesting that barring any further snow or rain in the near future, people will be out seeding or doing early field work in the next week or so, with one of the main factors being soil temperature.

"We have both weed growth and grass growth starting, which is a sign that the ground is warming up. It looks like we're headed for an early year," she said.

Moats cautioned that it's early spring yet, and the weather can change things very quickly at this time of year.

"We've had years when we're out seeding in the middle of April, then it's delayed for a week or two due to snow. But as the roads dry up and get more solid, it's a busy time for people getting seed cleaned and equipment ready to roll," she said, noting for areas south and west of Weyburn, it's not uncommon for people to be seeding by the end of April.

With the dry conditions left from last fall, Moats suggested farmers might want to take measures to conserve soil moisture during and after seeding, such as by minimizing preseeding tillage, or harrowing after seeding instead of leaving it alone.