Farmers are busy getting this year’s crop in the ground when the weather co-operates.

Shawn Senko is an Agronomy Specialist for the Canola Council of Canada says soil temperatures are looking good now.

"Ideal 8-10 degree is the best to get your canola emergence going," he said. "Realistically most guys start a little bit earlier when it's about 5 degrees, just to get rolling. By the time you get a few acres in, the temperature usually comes up close to that 8-10 degree range." 

He also said when it comes to seeding this year’s Canola crop there are some basic things to keep in mind.

"We used to say 7-8 plants per square foot, now roughly 4-6 plants per square foot is the ideal amount," Senko said. "We've just come out with an online canola calculator, it looks at things like what the soil temperature is, what condition is the seed bed in, seed size and it will help you determine what you seeding rate should be to hit that optimum plant stand."      

He notes another general note when seeding Canola is that it establishes better in clean fields with little to no trash.

Meantime, the Canola harvest has been continuing in some parts of the province this spring.

Over 1 million acres was left out over the winter.

Senko says he’s been hearing some of the canola that has been coming off the field this spring is grading 1 or 2.