This year’s growing season has tested farmers across Haldimand County, where dry weather has left much of the region struggling to bring crops to maturity.
Agronomist Aaron McQueen of Fisherville, owner of AA Crop Co., says conditions have varied, but three-quarters of the county has been on the dry side.
Areas from Rainham through South Cayuga and up toward Dunnville have seen hardly any significant rainfall since late May.
“A lot of the crop in that swath will be what we call an insurance crop,” said McQueen. “We’re not going to hit our production guarantee.”
Some farmers in the western part of the county have fared better, with spotty rains helping fields in certain pockets. Still, for most growers, the season has been defined by drought.
Ontario’s crop insurance program, supported by government funding, has been a lifeline, McQueen said: “We are fortunate … we’re fairly well protected that way in years like this.”
That protection is especially needed when even the best soil management practices couldn’t make up for the lack of rain this summer. When conditions are this extreme, he said, healthier soil helps little and many farmers chose not to spend more money on treatments for struggling crops. In August, insect issues showed up in soybeans, but in most cases growers did not treat them, knowing the yield potential was already capped.
Compared with previous dry spells, 2025 has proven especially challenging. McQueen recalled 2020 and 2016 as other dry years, but said the difference this time is profitability: grain prices are down, while the cost of fertilizer, crop inputs, fuel, equipment, and repairs are all elevated.
“This is probably one of the least profitable years for growers in this area,” said McQueen, who has been in the industry for 15 years.
In terms of crops, wheat was the bright spot.
Planted early and harvested in July, it benefitted from better spring conditions, with most growers exceeding their average yields.
But corn told a very different story.
McQueen said it was the worst affected crop by far, facing multiple setbacks from the start. Some fields were planted late, while others went into cold soils in May and June. That poor beginning, combined with a hot and dry summer, meant corn never had the chance to recover.
“Corn will be the worst affected crop – it’s just a complete write-off, essentially,” McQueen said.
The crop’s high water demands only made the problem worse. Even in parts of the county that saw more rainfall, yields were held back by uneven stands and stress during the key pollination stage. Farmers expecting strong ear development were left with thin cobs and patchy fields. For most, the goal now is simply to salvage what remains and move forward to next year.
Soybeans fell somewhere in the middle, expected to finish close to farmers’ insurance guarantees, though far from bumper yields. They withstood the dry conditions somewhat better than corn, but without consistent rainfall the plants could not reach their full potential.
Across southern Ontario, crop conditions are mixed heading into September.
The Ontario Grain Farmers’ Market Trends Report notes that while some southwestern regions benefitted from near-ideal moisture, many parts of central, western, and eastern Ontario endured drought through the summer. The Great Ontario Yield Tour projected provincial corn and soybean yields below the 10-year average, citing heat stress and dryness as key factors. Overall, the picture across the province is uneven, with some regions anticipating decent harvests and others bracing for losses.
Looking ahead, farmers are already thinking about next year’s acres.
With fertilizer near record highs and grain prices depressed, McQueen expects to see more soybeans planted in 2026, as they are less expensive to grow. Corn and wheat acreage will likely shrink.
He added that global tariffs on Russian fertilizer, tied to the war in Ukraine, are also keeping input costs high. Russia, one of the world’s largest fertilizer producers, is largely cut off from Canadian markets, further pushing prices upward.
Regardless of these challenges, local farmers continue to evaluate conditions, prepare best practices for growth, and put in the hard work to deliver fresh, quality food to our community.
