It will still be a few more weeks before Manitoba's farmers are out in the field.

Dane Froese is the Industry Development Specialist - Oilseeds with Manitoba Agriculture.

"By in large, we've had a very favourable spring so far," he said. "We've had a slower, steady melt, which has been positively received in Manitoba. Flood risk has been a little lower with the delay in water release off farm fields. With the warm weather this past weekend, we're seeing most fields, at least in southern Manitoba, are snow free and drying off fairly quickly with adequate temperature."

Froese notes there is not a lot of standing water on the fields, as farmers have made improvements to drainage in recent years.

He expects seeding to start around the last week of April/first week of May, which is normal for this time of year. Fields near the Red River and other flood zones could be delayed.

Manitoba Agriculture is expecting to release its first crop report of the season on April 29th.