Ontario in distress Corn and soybean crops suffer from prolonged hot weather, lack of rain
TORONTO — Parts of Ontario, one of Canada’s largest agricultural-producing provinces, have been hit with the most severe drought in decades and already, debate is swirling about appropriate government response.
Last week, both federal New Democrats and Liberals in Ottawa denounced the federal Conservative government for not promising help.
Among provincial players, reaction is more muted.
“At this point, we just don’t know what will be needed,” Ontario agriculture minister Ted McMeekin said in a July 25 interview. “We only make payments after harvest when we know what actual damage has been done. Farmers are by nature optimistic and agriculture ministers should be optimistic too.”
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Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Mark Wales, a mixed farmer from southwest Ontario, did not take issue with that assessment.
He said southwestern Ontario tree fruits like apples, pears and cherries have virtually been wiped out for the year, suffering from early hot weather in March that enticed tree fruits to start flowering too early and then killer frosts in April and May.
Meanwhile, hot weather and prolonged drought mean corn and soybeans in many areas are stunted or burned and the hay crop in many areas of the province has been hurt.
Hardest hit are southwestern and eastern Ontario.
“Rains could save some of those crops but we are clearly talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in losses,” Wales said in a July 26 interview during the Canadian Federation of Agriculture summer directors’ meeting.
“Crop insurance will be busy and thankfully, the crop insurance fund was in good shape. This year also will be a huge test of AgriStability.”
However, both McMeekin and Wales said it is too early to raise the issue of AgriRecovery funding or applications because the full extent of the damage is far from clear.
“I would say 20 percent of the province is in distress and some of those crops are damaged or lost but rains could have an impact,” said the agriculture minister.
He also noted that farmers have access to coverage from crop insurance, AgriStability and the provincial Risk Management Program.
