Spring seeding begins in southwest and southeast Sask.

Spring seeding is ahead of schedule in southern Saskatchewan this year with about three per cent of the crop in the ground.

Saskatchewan Agriculture released the first crop report of the season, reporting that there are still about 35.1 million acres of cropland left to seed as of April 25.

The five-year average for mid-April seeding is less than one per cent, but grain producers in southwest Saskatchewan have pushed up the timeline with eight per cent of seeding complete. Some producers in the southeast have about four per cent of the crop in the ground.

Rain and snow earlier this week provided some good moisture for grain farmers in the southwest and west central regions of the province, with some areas getting up to 40 mm or about 1.6 inches of snow.

Fields in the east central part of the province are still far too wet to seed after going into the fall with high soil moisture levels and getting more snow than other areas throughout the winter.

Most grain farmers in other areas are still working the fields and controlling weeds, with seeding expected to start in the next couple of weeks depending on the weather.

Top soil moisture is looking pretty good across most of the province with 83 per cent at adequate moisture levels, but some areas are still quite dry with 10 per cent short on moisture and one per cent very short.