Many farmers have started to sow their fields, but they cannot carry out the work due to the weather of the past weeks and its consequences.
Potatoes or carrots have yet to be planted, explains agronomist Luc Bérubé from the Pommes de Terre Bérubé farm in Trois-Pistoles.
He adds that humidity also threatens strawberries, which could rot before they are picked.
Luc Bérubé claims that one of his tractors even got stuck in his field this week.
[C’est arrivé] just yesterday, planting potatoes, right in the middle of a field, without warning! The potato planter and the tractor really crashed and we ended up in too soft
he describes.
He adds that he now has to work his land bypassing large strips that have become too wet.
” The ideal is a good mix of good weather and rain. Well balanced. »
The same phenomenon is observed at Ferme Rioukioux in Saint-Simon-de-Rimouski. Its owner, Jean-François Rioux, explains that even if his hay has reached maturity, he cannot mow it.
Farm machinery would leave deep furrows on the land due to its lack of firmness and the hay would not be able to dry as it would fall in puddles left by the frequent rains.
We’re going to make tracks. We’re going to break the field. We are going to break its lift, its structure. […] When we go for a walk in a field and we make big roulières, we have just mortgaged this small part of the field for years and years
explains Jean-François Rioux.
” The hay is already ripe. We will have quantity, but the quality may not be there. I never thought to say that we have too much water. »
The farmer from Saint-Simon explains that hay loses its quality if it is cut too early or too late in its development.
It then has less nutrients and protein and more fodder is needed to feed the animals.
he continues.
Unlike this early summer when hay was abundant, the summers of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 were marked by difficult hay cuts due to dry weather.
More rain than normal
According to data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Bas-Saint-Laurent has been receiving more water than normal since the end of May.
So far, the region has received 50 to 85 millimeters of rain, depending on the sector.
The meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, Simon Legault, even suggests that the Mont-Joli sector has received about 130 millimeters of water in recent weeks.
” Since mid-May, we’ve had a lot more rain than normal. »
The average monthly precipitation in Bas-Saint-Laurent in June is just under 100 millimeters of rain.
There is a good difference with the past years [où on a eu] spring months which were drier. When you start with a certain drought at the beginning of the summer, it is more difficult. Currently, we have accumulated a lot of water. Soils are pretty well hydrated right now
he adds.
Simon Legault mentions that other regions of Quebec such as Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Centre-du-Québec, Gaspésie and Côte-Nord have also recorded more abundant precipitation than average in recent times.
Rain is still forecast for the next few days in the region, but according to forecasts from Environment and Climate Change Canada, the sun should return to Bas-Saint-Laurent at the beginning of next week.
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca