Seeding has wrapped up for another year in southeastern Saskatchewan, and farmers are now gazing at their fields, carefully watching and nurturing the tender plants.

This is no less true for those in the Rural Municipality of Reciprocity, as Reeve Alan Arthur observed.

"There was a bit of reseeding done because of cutworms, but I think that's been completed. We're just waiting for good weather to let things grow."

"The cereals are developing real well, a very nice crop. Some of the pulses have suffered a little bit with the water, however, overall it's good crop. At least, it has the potential to be average or above average. They're looking good right now," he stated.

While we experienced a rather arid spring, the skies reversed to begin summer, and now farmers are hoping for some sunshine to do it's thing.

"In the last week we had 3 inches, so we're not short of rain. I think everybody is pretty satisfied with the amount of moisture. Some of the fields are wet, you can see the sprayer's tracks. However, there's no real flooding that I'm aware of right in this area," said Arthur.

Although the windy conditions have resulted in damage in some areas of the province, he noted that the crop is too low to suffer too much at this point.

"In the couple of fields that I looked at there was a few split leaves on the early wheat. I think the rye and winter wheat are past the point where wind will bother them. When they start filling, and get a better rain on them so they start lodging, that's a bit of a problem. It's too early for that right now though."

Other damage seen includes cutworms and flea beetles, of which Arthur said the latter is constant, but the it's been years since the former was this bad.

"If people weren't monitoring real close and didn't know what they were looking for, the damage that cutworms can do in a matter of two days is just unbelievable."

"Perhaps it's the rotations, or perhaps it's the season last year, but there's definitely a lot of them in areas. Not all fields, but certain ones."

He added that many are caught up on their spraying, despite the strong winds, although it's a never ending task to stay on top of the weeds.

Looking ahead, he noted that most in the area are pretty optimistic about the rest of the season.

"I think everybody in agriculture is fairly positive right now. The grain prices of course move around at this time of year, with every rumor of supply or weather. The cattle prices are very strong, and the pasture looks potentially good. The hay crop might be a poorer average, but still in all, the prices are something that are very supportive."

He stated that they could stand a couple weeks of sunshine, moderate wind and reasonably good temperatures. With some hot and dry weather for the cattle producers to begin haying, Arthur expects it to be a good year.

"We just hope for clear skies, a little bit of rain but not too much, and good weather for everybody."