Unless Southwestern Ontario gets a good stretch of dry weather, farmers could face an economic disaster this year.
Farmer and owner of Santo Farm Seed, Dave Santo told BlackburnNews.com the wheat crop did not make it this year in Essex County, and the corn and soybean crops are threatened.
"I've been selling seed for 36 years; farming for 45 years and it has got to be, so far, so far, the most spring that we've seen for getting crop in the ground," said Santo
It could leave many farmers in dire straits. While insurance coverage has been extended, they have only until July 5 to get soybean seeds in the ground, and July 17 for corn.
"Guys are very resourceful," he said. "If it does dry, the crop can get in quite quickly. But, when you reach a certain date, the crop will no longer mature properly.
"We assume guys will continue to plant past that date, possibly up to the 15th or 16th of July," continued Santo. "But as you're aware every time we turn around, we're experiencing these thunderstorms."
The window of opportunity is tight, and unseeded acreage benefits will only cover some of the cost.
"These farm operations are million-dollar operations. If you get no crop in the ground, well, it's concerning," Santo explained. "There is crop insurance, but it does not offset the expenses that one incurs in a year. Even if they don't put the crop in."
As for fruit and vegetable growers, the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers Association has managed to get an extension for some crops. Other deadlines are under review.
"OPVG has been working closely with food processors and growers as well as Agricorp to review the deadlines for each crop as planting progresses," read a statement from the association. "We've been able to obtain extensions to a number of planting deadlines, onions, peas, and sweet corn, which has greatly relieved pressure for growers."
