It’s official, and it will come as no surprise to local farmers.
Windsor and Essex County are waterlogged.
With eight days left in July, the weather station at Windsor Airport has recorded four and a half times the normal precipitation for the month.
“In my business you beat records by a 10th of a degree, or half a millimetre,” said Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips.
“These are clearly off the charts. The award has already been given. This is the wettest period in Windsor’s history. There has never ever been a wetter month, whether it be a hurricane month in the fall, August, or April showers.”
A field of soybeans in Harrow, Ont., is damaged due to excessive rain, Tuesday, July 23, 2013. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)
Prior to Tuesday’s multiple downpours, Windsor Airport had received 263 millimetres of rain, compared to the average for the first 22 days of July which would be 58 millimetres.
The previous all-time record for all 31 days of July was set in 1969, when 244 millimetres of rain fell.
The daily deluges are causing fits for local farmers, many of whom should be harvesting crops right about now but can’t.
“We just can’t get in the field, because the machinery doesn’t float,” said Mark Balkwill, the president of the Essex County Federation of Agriculture.
Balkwill is primarily a dairy farmer but also grows hay to feed his cattle, and some small quantities of cash crops.
Lower-lying areas of his property, Harcliff Farms on Arner Townline in Kingsville, have become homes for virtual lakes and ponds.
“I think every farmer has got a way lot more moisture than what we need,” said Balkwill.
A field of soybeans in Harrow, Ont., with shades of yellow indicates crop damage due to excessive rain, Tuesday, July 23, 2013. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)
“Different commodities are affected different ways. The beans and the corn are probably certainly effected but their harvest isn’t until fall so we won’t know the results until fall.”
Balkwill said that despite the problems, the fact that crops are growing normally in some spots could minimize the damage.
“You look at those fields you know there’s damage in spots in some of the fields,” Balkwill said.
“You can see the big lakes and the yellowing of the leaves and things like that. But, the weather can turn, and the rest of the crop that’s out of the water and going could turn out to be bumper, so you end up with an average year.”
To rescue the growing season, a couple of weeks of relatively dry weather is needed, he said.
“I would think zero precipitation for a two-week period would be acceptable for everybody and then you get that small amount of rain through August that helps to finish the crops off,” said Balkwill, who has been farming with his father for 35 years.
A field of soybeans in Harrow, Ont., is damaged due to excessive rain, Tuesday, July 23, 2013. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)
“A drought right now is not what we would want either but two weeks of windy and sunny conditions and then a few small rains to carry us through to harvest would be ideal.”
But Phillips said there is no indication of a change in the weather pattern, although Wednesday and Thursday are forecast to be clear before the rain returns on Friday.
“It’s just more rain and rain and rain,” said Phillips.
“In many ways this has been more significant because you’ve had it so many days. These have been tropical rains. When it’s raining you’re getting these cloud bursts. It’s almost like what you’d see in the Caribbean where you could set your watch to it. This is clearly not good unless you’re growing rice.”
Leamington farmer Larry Verbeke said the rains have created a new ditch on his property, where he grows potatoes.
“There’s probably two feet or more (of water) in there and it’s cut out its own path and everything that’s touching it now, probably 50 feet on each side of this newly created ditch has been cooked and it’s all dead,” said Verbeke, a Leamington municipal councillor.
Phillips said the entire growing season, which traditionally is said to begin April 1, has seen 625 millimetres of rain, compared to the normal total of 314 millimetres.
And so far in July, 17 of the 23 days have had precipitation.
Mark Balkwill, co-owner of Harcliff Farms in Harrow, is shown next to a field of soybeans that have been damaged from too much rain, Tuesday, July 23, 2013. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)
“You need some dry out,” said Phillips.
“These are phenomenal numbers, they are record-breaking but they are smashing previous records. Every way you look at it it’s been wet, wet wet.”
It’s a similar story across Ontario, Balkwill said, although Windsor-Essex seems to be faring the worst.
“This isn’t a local problem, it goes straight through to Quebec,” Balkwill said.
“It’s pretty well widespread.”
Balkwill urged everybody who eats food to say a prayer for the farmers.
“It’s tough,” Balkwill said.
“Everything for us does count on the weather and if you don’t have the weather on your side, it can change the whole picture. We certainly have had some great prices and have prospered greatly in the last year or two but it’s a year like this that brings you back to reality. We need a break and we need it now.”
Mark Balkwill, co-owner of Harcliff Farms in Harrow, stands next to a field of soybeans that have been damaged from too much rain, Tuesday, July 23, 2013. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)
