District farmers want hot weather

Although the district didn’t get near as much rain Kenora did over the weekend, local farmers are getting tired of the wet and cool weather conditions and hoping for things to heat up.
Gary Sliworsky, the ag and rural rep with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs office in Emo, said the district’s average temperature is well below seasonal for this time of year (25 C).
“Crops aren’t developing as well and we have a limited growing season,” he noted. “It’s no big concern yet but things aren’t growing with the speed they’re supposed to.”
“We need heat, definitely,” echoed Kim Jo Calder, manager at the Emo research station.
“From what I can remember, this is one of our worst years in a long time,” she added. “We need heat and we need it to quit raining for a long time.”
Because of the cooler-than-normal weather, any wetness in the field is liable to stay around longer, Sliworsky noted. And while no one is facing flood conditions, the extra moisture is causing problem.
“I’d say about the second week of June people tried to cut hay,” Calder said. “I don’t think anyone got the first cut completed. It’s really difficult to make hay because the rain doesn’t stay away long enough.
“Some people were just able to seed last week,” she added. “It’s an odd year when haying and seeding runs together.”
Those still planting crops now run the risk of being too late.
“If you’re already moving to something that’s a shorter season, you need enough heat to make it grow in that shorter time,” Calder explained.
The only benefit to this heavy moisture so far is the pasture has been excellent and the alfalfa is coming along well. But she pointed out having good alfalfa doesn’t mean anything if it can’t be taken off the field.
“I think you’ll find a lot of frustrated people out there,” Calder warned. “Here at the station, we barely have time to get a job completed. But I can’t do anything about the weather.”
“We’re just not warm enough,” agreed Sliworsky. “Some people got close to freezing last night and this is the end of June.”