Higher-Than-Average Rainfall Preventing Essex County Farmers from Planting their Crops
Farmers around Windsor have been unable to plant all their crops due to unusually wet weather.
Unusually heavy rains this month are preventing many farmers near Windsor from planting their crops. Grain Farmers of Ontario Area Director Brendan Byrne says May was the wettest on record for parts of Essex County. He says, in a normal year, all of his crops would have been planted by now and have started rising out of the ground.
“In this area we’ve never really had an issue like this where June 30th is the deadline for us for crop insurance, and at this point we’re not sure whether that acreage will all get planted. We’re hoping to maybe have an extension or something to give us an extra bit of time if it does dry out.”
-Brendan Byrne
Byrne says he won’t worry about plants getting into the ground later than usual if this summer is hot and dry, but he says if the wet weather continues, plants might have trouble reaching full maturity.
Listen to his full conversation with WDET’s Marissa Gawel by clicking the PLAY button above.
