Endless wet weather batters Ontario farms
Farmers ask province for help after rains cause ‘hundreds of millions’ in damage
This summer, when it rains, it pours — and the wet conditions have left many Ontario farmers struggling.
Beginning with a rainy spring that in some areas delayed planting and then flooded crops, the full extent of the damage won’t be fully known until the fall harvest — but the Ontario Federation of Agriculture estimates it will easily be in the “hundreds of millions” across the province, especially in eastern Ontario and the Holland Marsh area.
“This is the second year in a row” of volatile weather, said president Keith Currie. “The areas most hit with drought last year are getting hardest hit with rain this year.”
The back-to-back bad conditions have prompted Progressive Conservative MPP Jim Wilson to call on the government to provide additional aid to farmers. He toured affected properties in his Simcoe-Grey riding with staff from the agriculture minister’s office, but said he was “very, very disappointed” to hear that no new funds are forthcoming, especially when about one-third of farmers have no crop insurance.
Years ago, after a tornado, the thenagriculture minister started a special program to help apple growers replant all their uprooted trees, Wilson said, and he wonders why something similar is not now in the works.
“There is great uncertainty and it is far too early for the Wynne government to be turning its backs on farmers,” Wilson said. “There are billions available when there’s trouble or there’s a Liberal scandal, and they have nothing for what, in the big picture, is (one of ) the backbones of our economy.”
This year, eastern Ontario in particular has suffered, with the region on its way to record precipitation after 705 millimetres of rain from April 1 to the end of July. Last year, during the same time period, it was 193 millimetres, and the normal amount is 340 millimetres. Toronto has seen 388 millimetres of rain, compared to 160 millimetres last year during that same four-month period, and an average of 291.
“I don’t know what’s happening in Ottawa,” said David Phillips of Environment Canada. “We think it’s wet here, but it’s nothing compared to Ottawa. It’s almost as if it’s become a monsoonal climate.”
North of Toronto, Beeton farmers Barry and Bonnie Dorsey lost hundreds of acres after a torrential storm in late June, estimating $2.5 million in damages to crops including potatoes, onions and carrots.
“That morning, we had 20 to 30 acres under water,” said Barry Dorsey. Hours later, “we had 500 acres two feet under water” as overloaded local rivers and drainage ditches flowed onto their property.
There was so much, his nephew went kayaking across the fields. When the water was finally drained, workers found several fish. One nearby farmer lost 100 of 175 acres.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Barry Dorsey, who has farmed for decades. “I’ve never had this ever happen to me.”
The government says it is “too soon to determine the full impact this year’s unpredictable weather will have on crops across the province” and Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal is keeping a close eye on the situation.
“Farmers have a tough job but they do it well, even during difficult times,” he said via email. “This season, several parts of the province have been hit with unseasonable weather, which has impacted planting and growing conditions for some Ontario farmers. I have been monitoring this situation and recognize the stress that severe weather events cause for our farm families.”
He said the government has programs available, including insurance, spending “more than $230 million every year . . . to help producers cover loss and damage due to risks that are beyond their control, like extreme weather.”
There are provincial and federal programs that can help some farmers, and while they may take time to pay out, “there are opportunities that they can take advantage of, and every little bit helps,” said Currie of the agriculture federation.
But extra measures wouldn’t have to mean “a cheque in the mail,” he added, but maybe letting financial institutions give farmers a break on interest payments “to help them get back on their feet.”
Currie also said farmers should be included in the government’s climate change action plans, given the impact of the weather changes on their livelihood.
When crops are harvested this fall, the impact of the rain could show up in the quality and quantity of the yield, said Professor Dave Hooker of the University of Guelph, a field crop agronomist who is in continual contact with farmers across Ontario.
In April and May, too-moist soil in the east half of the province meant corn and soy bean crops could not be planted — though areas west of Toronto continue to be “exceptionally dry,” he said.
That delay pushes the season later, as does replanting fields after rain damage, “and results in a number of different consequences,” he said. Later planting can make crops more susceptible to flooding, and root rot can set in affecting growth or even killing them.
Too much water can also lead to a loss of nutrients, in particular nitrogen, considered crucial for high crop production, Hooker added.
“It’s clearly been night and day compared to last year,” said Dave Phillips of Environment Canada. “Last year, it was all about ‘where is the rain?’ This year, it’s all about too much rain.”
“That is the thing, this is what just upsets farmers, dismays them, how do we deal with this back to back?”
And it’s not just rain, but a lack of warmth this summer. In terms of days above 30 C, Ottawa has had six this year, compared to 26 in 2016; Toronto just eight, and 29 last year.
Phillips said that while the focus is typically the extremes of climate change, “another mark is variation” in weather. While weather forecasts have become more accurate, he said, farmers rely on typical seasons with few outliers and, now, “you can’t count on it being a normal season or a normal year.”
“It’s clearly been night and day compared to last year . . . last year, it was all about ‘where is the rain?,’ this year it’s all about too much rain.” DAVE PHILLIPS ENVIRONMENT CANADA