After a growing season that some would like to forget, Ontario farmers are expecting to harvest substantially less corn and soybeans this year.
A Statistics Canada survey released Tuesday found corn yields are expected to fall 13.8%, a drop of 23.4 bushels per acre in Ontario, while soybean yields are expected to fall 5.5 bushels an acre to 40.5 bushels.
The two crops are worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the Ontario economy with much of the production concentrated in the London region.
If there is one consolation, the crop situation could have been worse.
The season started with cold weather and heavy rains stalling planting. That was followed by prolonged drought conditions in many areas and then heavy rains again.
"Given the way we started out this year and given all the adverse weather that we went through, it's just astounding how well the soybeans have been yielding so far," said Peter Johnson, crop specialist with the Ontario Agriculture Ministry.
Recent rains have prevented farmers from harvesting, but the forecast now calls for seven days of sunshine with above normal temperatures.
"There are lots of fields with water laying in them. We need 10 days of good weather in order to get things dried out to get moving and actually get something done. There are a lot of guys certainly getting antsy to get into the field," Johnson said.
The Statistics Canada crop production survey is based on interviews with 14,100 farmers across Canada, conducted from Sept. 1 to Sept. 9.
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