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Last year it was a drought. This year it was a deluge. And farmers are fearing for their crops for a second year in a row.
Heavy rains have delayed planting, which means yields will be lower. For many farmers, it has been too wet to harvest hay. That will affect the entire local agricultural ecosystem. Beef farmers and dairy farmers who can’t produce enough hay will have to buy supplemental feed. Riding stables face scrounging for hay to feed horses.
“In the front of our house, there is a field that literally smells of rotting corn,” says Shelley McPhail, who produces cash crops on 400 acres between Almonte and Pakenham.
“Even people who live in the country don’t have any idea,” says Amanda O’Connell, whose family farms about 2,000 acres near Carleton Place. “You have to wake up every morning and look at it. It almost makes you sick to your stomach to look at crops that are drowning. And the rain keeps coming.”
The Lanark Federation of Agriculture is calling the situation a “disaster,” and its members want the province to step in and at least have a look at the damage. The federation has asked the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to request that provincial agriculture minister Jeff Leal assess the conditions and prepare to deliver emergency assistance in disaster areas.
A spokesman for Leal said the province has been closely monitoring wet weather conditions across the province, including Eastern Ontario, and has toured farms where crops have been significantly affected by the wet weather. Field staff from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs have also been working closely with farmers, he said.
“Our government is committed to supporting Ontario’s farmers, and that is why we commit more than $230 million every year in business risk management programs available for growers to cover loss and damage due to risks that are beyond their control. ”
These programs, also called “crop insurance,” may help pay some land rent or cover some input costs, but they won’t cover loss of income, say farmers. “Crop insurance is meant to mitigate our ordinary risk. This is not ordinary,” McPhail said.
She points out that governments were quick to offer financial help to those whose homes were damaged by flooding, but there’s been no mention of any financial aid for farmers.
“I want someone to come and see this. I don’t want a photo-op. We have neighbours who are in worse shape than us. One has 175 acres that never got planted. At this point, what do you plant? Farmers are proud people. They don’t look for a handout unless it’s serious.”
The average July rainfall for Ottawa area is 86.5 mm. So far this month, it has been almost three times that amount.
“There is a lot of acreage that has never been planted. A lot of soybeans and corn will be ruined,” says Lillian Drummond, who farms 200 acres near Almonte.
Cows stand in a flooded field on Lillian Drummond’s farm near Almonte.
Farmers like to cut their first hay in early June. For some, it hasn’t happened yet. And the hay that is standing has grown tall and fibrous, losing some of its nutritional value as animal feed. “Cows need protein. There’s a lot of fibre here, but very little protein,” says Drummond.
Her fields are too wet to collect the hay in wagons. It may have to remain in the fields in round bales until the fields get dry enough. “It’s so late we won’t get a second or third cut,” she said.
O’Connell’s family’s Sunol Farm typically gets two cuts of grass hay and four of alfalfa. So far there has been no alfalfa and one cut of grass hay. This week, equipment got stuck in the mud. Her family has bought a field of standing alfalfa from another farmer to make up for the lost hay harvest. Crops that would normally be sold as surplus will now go to feed the farm’s 120 dairy cows and 55 beef cattle.
The past two summers have been a double whammy.
Andrea McCoy-Naperstko and her husband, Arvin, raise Highland cattle and supply hay to horse owners, who want top-quality hay. Last year, a drought meant their hay yield was low, and they had to find hay from other farmers for their clients. They sold 10 of their Highland cattle — they still have more than 30 — but still had to supplement with feed because there wasn’t enough hay.
“We barely squeaked through,” said Andrea, who is a director of the Lanark Federation of Agriculture.
The McCoy-Naperstkos managed to cut their first hay last week. Andrea was hoping to bale the hay on Sunday, but it was still damp. Then, on Monday, there was a downpour.
“What was wonderful horse hay has turned into cattle feed,” she said.
Lillian Drummond shows how wet her fields near Almonte remain. Jean Levac, Postmedia
“We’re not asking for a handout. But if you don’t have crops, you won’t have cattle. This is food production across the board. If we can’t make money, we’re gone. I have to trust our politicians to put their heads together and come up with something.”
Environment Canada is predicting sun for the next few days, with a chance of showers Tuesday and Wednesday.
“You can’t catch up with hay. But anything can happen in the next month,” O’Connell said. “If we get a late frost, it could be fine.”
查看原文...
Heavy rains have delayed planting, which means yields will be lower. For many farmers, it has been too wet to harvest hay. That will affect the entire local agricultural ecosystem. Beef farmers and dairy farmers who can’t produce enough hay will have to buy supplemental feed. Riding stables face scrounging for hay to feed horses.
“In the front of our house, there is a field that literally smells of rotting corn,” says Shelley McPhail, who produces cash crops on 400 acres between Almonte and Pakenham.
“Even people who live in the country don’t have any idea,” says Amanda O’Connell, whose family farms about 2,000 acres near Carleton Place. “You have to wake up every morning and look at it. It almost makes you sick to your stomach to look at crops that are drowning. And the rain keeps coming.”
The Lanark Federation of Agriculture is calling the situation a “disaster,” and its members want the province to step in and at least have a look at the damage. The federation has asked the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to request that provincial agriculture minister Jeff Leal assess the conditions and prepare to deliver emergency assistance in disaster areas.
A spokesman for Leal said the province has been closely monitoring wet weather conditions across the province, including Eastern Ontario, and has toured farms where crops have been significantly affected by the wet weather. Field staff from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs have also been working closely with farmers, he said.
“Our government is committed to supporting Ontario’s farmers, and that is why we commit more than $230 million every year in business risk management programs available for growers to cover loss and damage due to risks that are beyond their control. ”
These programs, also called “crop insurance,” may help pay some land rent or cover some input costs, but they won’t cover loss of income, say farmers. “Crop insurance is meant to mitigate our ordinary risk. This is not ordinary,” McPhail said.
She points out that governments were quick to offer financial help to those whose homes were damaged by flooding, but there’s been no mention of any financial aid for farmers.
“I want someone to come and see this. I don’t want a photo-op. We have neighbours who are in worse shape than us. One has 175 acres that never got planted. At this point, what do you plant? Farmers are proud people. They don’t look for a handout unless it’s serious.”
The average July rainfall for Ottawa area is 86.5 mm. So far this month, it has been almost three times that amount.
“There is a lot of acreage that has never been planted. A lot of soybeans and corn will be ruined,” says Lillian Drummond, who farms 200 acres near Almonte.
Cows stand in a flooded field on Lillian Drummond’s farm near Almonte.
Farmers like to cut their first hay in early June. For some, it hasn’t happened yet. And the hay that is standing has grown tall and fibrous, losing some of its nutritional value as animal feed. “Cows need protein. There’s a lot of fibre here, but very little protein,” says Drummond.
Her fields are too wet to collect the hay in wagons. It may have to remain in the fields in round bales until the fields get dry enough. “It’s so late we won’t get a second or third cut,” she said.
O’Connell’s family’s Sunol Farm typically gets two cuts of grass hay and four of alfalfa. So far there has been no alfalfa and one cut of grass hay. This week, equipment got stuck in the mud. Her family has bought a field of standing alfalfa from another farmer to make up for the lost hay harvest. Crops that would normally be sold as surplus will now go to feed the farm’s 120 dairy cows and 55 beef cattle.
The past two summers have been a double whammy.
Andrea McCoy-Naperstko and her husband, Arvin, raise Highland cattle and supply hay to horse owners, who want top-quality hay. Last year, a drought meant their hay yield was low, and they had to find hay from other farmers for their clients. They sold 10 of their Highland cattle — they still have more than 30 — but still had to supplement with feed because there wasn’t enough hay.
“We barely squeaked through,” said Andrea, who is a director of the Lanark Federation of Agriculture.
The McCoy-Naperstkos managed to cut their first hay last week. Andrea was hoping to bale the hay on Sunday, but it was still damp. Then, on Monday, there was a downpour.
“What was wonderful horse hay has turned into cattle feed,” she said.
Lillian Drummond shows how wet her fields near Almonte remain. Jean Levac, Postmedia
“We’re not asking for a handout. But if you don’t have crops, you won’t have cattle. This is food production across the board. If we can’t make money, we’re gone. I have to trust our politicians to put their heads together and come up with something.”
Environment Canada is predicting sun for the next few days, with a chance of showers Tuesday and Wednesday.
“You can’t catch up with hay. But anything can happen in the next month,” O’Connell said. “If we get a late frost, it could be fine.”
查看原文...
