During this monitoring period, Canada’s agricultural areas remained in the pre-spring-sowing preparation stage. Soil moisture conditions were jointly influenced by winter precipitation, snow cover, freeze-thaw dynamics, and early-spring snowmelt recharge. CropWatch monitoring results show that national soil moisture conditions were generally close to the average level for the same period, with a mean anomaly of -0.008. Overall, soil moisture was broadly normal but slightly drier than usual, with anomalies ranging from -0.570 to 0.521, indicating relatively clear local differences between wet and dry conditions. Spatially, most agricultural areas were characterized by normal to slightly dry soil moisture conditions. Some localized areas showed signs of moisture loss, but no extensive or severe drought pattern had developed. Overall, current soil moisture conditions in Canada remained stable and were generally sufficient to support the transition to spring agricultural production.

From an agroclimatic perspective, national precipitation from January to March was 4.06% above the 15-year average, while average temperature was 0.46°C higher than normal. This indicates that the monitoring period was slightly wetter and warmer overall, which helped maintain soil moisture and supported spring snowmelt recharge. However, photosynthetically active radiation was 13.14% below the average level, suggesting increased cloud cover and insufficient effective sunshine. Under the background of a warmer winter, repeated freeze-thaw processes may still have increased local fluctuations in soil moisture. Considering that the previous monitoring period was characterized by above-average precipitation and generally favorable soil moisture conditions, national soil moisture conditions in this period remained close to the normal range, although they declined slightly compared with the previous period. In the next stage, close attention should be paid to sowing progress.

Figure 2.6 Soil moisture anomaly map of Canada, January-March 2026