Lack of rain could threaten crops in Eastern Ontario

Jun 06, 2016

Weather forecast shows chances of rain

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Producers around Ottawa are stressing the fact they need rain soon, or they could lose nearly 40 per cent of their crops.

“We’re hoping and praying we do get some rain,” Mel Foster, a co-owner of Foster Family Farm in North Gower, Ontario, told CBC.

Some producers in the area have started to use irrigation to ensure their crops are receiving enough water – something they haven’t had to do since about 2012.

Rain

According to the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, farmers are battling a “moderately severe” drought.

Doug McKay, a cattle producer, also from North Gower, told CBC he could lose up to 40 per cent of his hay crop if the rains don’t come.

He said he’s fertilized his crop nearly a month ago but no rainfall means the fertilizer hasn’t penetrated the ground.

According to The Weather Network, there may be some rain coming.

The current 14-day forecast shows a 40 per cent chance of rain on June 9, 11, 12, 15, 18 and 20.

The highest chances of rain are June 7 and 8; both days have a 60 per cent chance of precipitation.

McKay said a heavy downpour won’t help because the ground is too hard and the rain will just run off.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.