Farmers say 2010 growing season could be best ever

Allan Mol says he doesn’t know if he’s ever seen a farming season as perfect as this year.

With the right mix of sun, heat and rain, the co-owner of Valley Centre Farms said everything has been growing just the way it should this summer.

"I hope we don’t get early frost or an excessive amount of rain starting anytime now," Mol said on a sunny and warm Tuesday afternoon. "The way it’s been going has been great because the crop will just ripen off nicely and we’ll be able to take it plenty early."

Valley Centre Farms grows barley, corn, soybeans, alfalfa and grass hay mostly to feed cattle; they’re primarily a dairy farm. And if the feed quality isn’t up to par, the cows won’t produce as much milk.

"You want enough moisture. You want enough warmth and nice sunny days, too," he said. "Those things play a big part in how the crops turn out. Weather plays one of the most important roles."

This year’s weather is a welcome change from that of the past few farming seasons, which have been more challenging for area farmers because of wet springs, said Thunder Bay District Soil and Crop Improvement Association chairman Bernie Kamphof.

"It makes the crops lazy in the spring because they don’t have to work to get the moisture," he said. "If it turns drier later in the season, the crops are a lot more affected."

The season is shaping up well, he added, noting the season started early and dry.

"That’s what we want for crops because the plants have to grow into dry soil and they put a good root system down and we’ve had just enough moisture to keep everything going and an adequate amount of heat," Kamphof said.

Kamphof also owns a dairy farm and said most Thunder Bay farming is in the dairy business, so weather conditions don’t affect their bottom line as much as western Canada wheat farmers.

About 20-to-30 millimetres of rain every week, seasonal temperatures and frost around Oct. 1 would make it a perfect season, said Kamphof.

"But we don’t live in a perfect world," he said. "It would be nice if we could order the weather, but we have no complaints. We really feel blessed in this area to have the conditions we’ve had."