2023 harvest stalls amidst wet, cold weather
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you, there is a lot more corn still standing in farmers’ fields than usual for this time of year.
“We would expect by the middle of October to have at least 20-25 pre cent of the crop mature, and 10-15 per cent harvested. We might have 1 per cent of the grain corn crop harvested,” said Peter Johnson, a senior agronomist with Real Agriculture.
Ontario’s corn crop is well behind schedule thanks to a lack of sustained heat this summer, said Johnson. And the sudden and constant supply of wet weather over the past two weeks hasn’t helped that, and has all but halted wheat planting, which could have ripple effects two years from now.Combining soybeans near Clinton, Ont., on Oct. 4, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
“Wheat is an incredibly important rotation crop in Ontario. It really does incredible things for soil health. When we put wheat in the crop rotation, we get 5 per cent more corn the next year, and we get 11 per cent more beans the year after that. But, dang it, if it gets too late and it stays wet and we don’t get wheat in the ground, it’s not going to help our rotation very much,” said Johnson, who was the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture’s Provincial Cereal Specialist for 30 years.
Ontario’s other major crop beans looked great, and mostly came off the fields dry thanks to a late September heat wave. But, it was all too good to be true, said Johnson.
“In the London area particularly, soybean yields have been disappointing. They looked amazing, but we had too much rain in July, and that hurt the soybean crop. Wheat yields actually turned out great. Provincially, we’ve had the second highest wheat yield ever,” he said.Soybeans ripening in the fields of Huron County, Ont., on Oct. 19,2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
That’s what can be so deceiving driving around the countryside, the fields of tall corn flowing in the breeze look great, as did the beans, but the fact it’s still in the fields, bodes well for a late, late harvest for Ontario corn producers.
“There’s a lot of corn that did go in early. Maybe by the end of the month, but I’d bet you won’t see combines rolling again until November this year,” said Huron County corn producer Mike Colclough.
“I had one farmer joke with me that we might still be combining corn when we’re listening to Christmas carols. Not the way we’d like it to be,” said Johnson.Corn slowly maturing in the fields of Huron County, Ont., on Oct. 19, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
But, if you’re going to farm, you’ve got to find silver linings, which is what Colclough is trying to do as he watches the skies.
“Not perfect. It’s never perfect, but, it’s good enough, let’s put it that way. Timely rains came just in time, in our area at least,” said the Holmesville area farmer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Conservatives push motion calling for Carney to testify, say it's about 'accountability'
The federal Conservatives made good on their promise to push for former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to testify before MPs, resulting in a heated political debate in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
London Drugs stores remain closed, 'cybersecurity incident' may have breached personal data
London Drugs says it is working with third-party security experts as the company tries to reopen dozens of stores across Western Canada that were shuttered by a cybersecurity incident Sunday.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.