As the time to plant crops approaches, local farmers mull options to deal with drier conditions

Area farmers hope to see a good amount of rain in the coming weeks as they get ready to plant their crops.

"We certainly have not had very much precipitation this winter and last summer was so dry," Trevor Herrle-Braun of Herrle's Country Farm Market said in a recent interview.

"We need that wet weather ... to build up that water table and get the groundwater levels up to where they need to be in order to plant," Herrle-Braun said.

"Otherwise you're just always playing catch up while you're planting — plant a little bit and then hope for rain and then plant a little bit more hope for rain."

But the reality is, local farmers are dealing with drier conditions as they prepare for planting season this year.

Waterloo region saw a mild winter, too, with little snow cover. The Eric Soulis Memorial Weather Station at the University of Waterloo noted it was the driest February since 1987. The region only saw about a third of its average precipitation: 21.6 mm compared to an average of 63.5 mm.

As they face drier conditions, crop producers are turning to seed companies to find solutions.

Sheila Murphy is the technical services manager with Corteva Agriscience, a U.S.-based company that has an office in Chatham, Ont. She works with farmers in southwestern Ontario and eastern Canada.

Murphy says drought-tolerant varieties are becoming available in their catalog to help address the growing challenges farmers have. These seeds produce plants with longer root systems, or fibrous root systems where the roots spread out and look like a mat.

"Whether it's able to go deeper into the soil profile where there still is some moisture or just the fibrous root system , those small root hairs allow the crop to find whatever water might be there, even if it's limited in some cases,"  she said.

Murphy says the seed products are developed by Corteva Agriscience, which has the major seed brand Pioneer Hybrid that sells drought tolerant corn, soybeans and wheat seed. She says most of their research has focused on corn growing conditions.

"Not all corn plants are created equal. So we're looking for those ones with that really special root system that can help itself find water," she said.