With three consecutive days of sunshine in the forecast grain farmers across the region are working overtime to get their crops in the ground.
Hampered by an exceptionally soggy spring, only 60 per cent of Ontario's corn crop and 15 per cent of its soybeans have been successfully planted. Normally farmers would have completed their spring planting before the start of June.
"The frequent rains didn't allow farmers to go into the fields to put in the crops in a timely manner," said Markus Haerle, chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario. "It's getting to be a real challenge."
In May alone, London received 115.2 millimetres of rain, Chatham was soaked with 101.6 millimetres, and Windsor-Essex got hit with 100 millimetres. Fields were so saturated that even the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs Field Crop Report noted soil was too wet for equipment in large parts of the province.
"Farmers depend on weather. If it is too dry it's an issue, if it is too wet it's an issue. I know the weather is never perfect, but this year is one of those extremes where the generations haven't ever seen it this bad over such a large scale in Ontario," said Haerle. "Any nice day we can get from here on into next week is going to be an extreme benefit... every farmer is scrambling to use this sunny weather to get that crop in."
Haerle, who in addition to representing the commodity organization is a corn, soybean, and wheat farmer near Ottawa, noted it will take some very long, stressful days for growers to get all of their crops in. Any that haven't finished planting by mid-month run the risk of their crops not maturing in time for the fall harvest season.
"If this weather turns to the warmer side we can make up some of that lost time, but there is already some yield impact no matter what because if you cannot plant your required seed for your specific area you will have yield loss," said Haerle.
Farmers have until June 15 to get their corn planted in order to receive crop insurance from Agricorp for any potential losses. That deadline has been extended to June 20 in select areas.
Blair Paton of Paton Farms Ltd. described the situation as "very frustrating."
"That's really all I can say because every time the ground starts to dry out it rains," said Paton. "We are not going to get all of our corn in, we won't get all of our vegetables in."
Paton Farms works just over 2,000 acres in Oxford and Middlesex counties and wasn't able to begin planting efforts until May 17.
With sun and daytime highs in the mid-20s Celsius forecast to continue through the weekend, Paton said it will be all-hands-on-deck in the fields before the rain starts to fall again on Monday.
There are 28,000 grain farmers in Ontario, growing on a combined 6 million acres of farmland.
