Ontario potato crops see heavy flooding damage

With numerous heavy rainfalls continuing to drench Canada’s Ontario province, some potato crops in the region are buried under floods. 

“There are a few isolated areas of extreme flooding in potato fields specifically in Beeton region of Ontario, which is a large potato growing area, as well as Orangeville and the Holland Marsh in Bradford, all from the same watershed flooding over from heavy rain events,” says Steph Kowalski of Dundalk, Ont.-based Agronomy Advantage. “There are a fair number of acres completely submerged.” 

Kowalski notes many of the fields have been fully underwater since last Friday due to repeat showers and will likely stay under water until the middle to end of this week. “Those fields are not salvageable and will be destroyed,” she says. “There are also a number of acres through remaining regions that experienced flooding from the heavy rain events--not directly connected to the previous mentioned watershed--and they’ll be set back in growth and development.” Kowalski estimates the flood will cost a few growers millions of dollars as well as raise potential production issues to the industry. “Fields that aren't completely killed out could have other production issues such as tuber malformations, disease development, as well as quality issues in the field and in storage later,” she adds. 

Prices of Ontario potatoes could increase if quality issues and supply shortages arise. “But I don't think the impact was that widespread to have that large of an impact,” notes Kowalski. 

Eek Farms is one of the potato farms in the Holland Marsh that has been affected. Fortunately for Avia Eek, of Eek Farms, the giant pumps used by growers in the Holland Marsh were draining excess water yesterday. “You can actually see the dirt now, so that’s very exciting,” said Eek. She added that with the afternoon sun and breeze it was even more beneficial. “It’s drying up even more of that land that was under water. If we can have another week of this kind of weather I think we’ll be out of the woods.” She estimates some crop loss, but much less due to the drainage of the floodwater. “There are some farms where parts of their crop are still sitting in water,” she said, noting that for her location in particular the pumps are working well. “We’re in control of everything now.” The pump draining system used in the Holland Marsh Eek says is unique to the entire province.

Things were already delayed. Eek is a commercial grower with contracts at local packing plants. When she started planting they were already almost two weeks behind. Crops affected at Eek’s farm included carrots and onions. Nine acres of carrots were under two feet of water. She had four to five acres of onions submerged. ““They’re green even though they sat in water for one and a half days. I think the onions will be fine.” The carrot crops were small in size to begin with – only about an inch tall. “When the plants are sitting in water they’re stressed. They’re not big enough to absorb the water and survive.” Unfortunately, the roots will likely have started to decay and Eek says they may need to replace with something else. “We’ll have to wait about almost two weeks to see what actual damage will be, then examine and make a decision.” Beets or a cover crop could be used – or even a short-day crop, Eek said. 

Other crops in the area include celery, corn, soybeans, sod and dry edible beans. “Some of these are fairly high-value crops,” Kowalski says. “Carrots and celery could likely be reseeded if the fields dry up quickly enough for the growers to get in them. Corn, soybeans, dry edible beans, and celery--nothing can be done if the crop is lost at this point in the season.” Kowalski confirms that the rain events are on top of 2017 already being a tough season for growers to date. “A cool, wet spring with a late start to summer didn't help the 2017 potato crop but it wasn't too far off par,” says Kowalski. “Many growers seeded similar acreages as they have in the past. They just may have been planted in less than ideal conditions. Overall these crops were average pre-flooding.”

The Holland Marsh area is known for good quality product because of its soil. Interestingly enough, in normal times Eek says the soil (peat) is an incredible growing medium. It holds moisture. “Which is not good at this time of year when we have a 100-year event, but it’s special.”

For more information: 

Steph Kowalski 

Tel: 519-323-6166

Avia Eek

Tel: 905-775-7059