It’s been a busy, challenging year in the various fields and farms that dot Haldimand County’s diverse agricultural landscape. While an occasionally unpredictable pattern of showers and outright downpours posed challenges in some areas, farmers are seeing signs of a strong yield in many sectors.
Jacob Elgersma, agronomist and owner of Gralex Agronomy Inc., shared his thoughts on the season so far: “It has been a very good growing season; early planting, adequate heat units, and more than enough moisture. The only negative could be the more frequent severity of multi-inch rains that we have been receiving.”

Director of Sales and Agronomy for Clark Agri Service Phil Burley agreed.
“Across Haldimand County, many growers have been dealing with excessive rainfall amounts since the beginning of June,” stated Burley. “The majority of early planted corn and soybeans are a week or two more advanced compared to the average. Even the later planted corn and soybeans have had enough heat and rainfall to still make for an average crop.”
Elgersma shared information on some crops that fared exceptionally well this year. He said that an average crop heat unit (CHU) index of between 125-150 places this year’s crops ahead of the 10-year average, with a good chance of reaching maturity before any season-ending frost hits.
“The forage yields have been very good, with many dairy growers saying it was like they harvested their first cut three times, with yields getting as high as 2.5-3 DM (dry matter) tonnes per cut.”
He noted, however, that turning that dry matter into hay has been a challenge this year due to the frequency of rain slowing down the process.
He said that cereal grain yields were down slightly from a strong 2023, but still above average, while wheat crops were a “week to 10 days ahead all season,” resulting in some farmers planting an additional soybean crop on harvested wheat acres.
Elgersma highlighted information taken from the Dunnville Weather Station, which shows that a total of 16.62 inches of rain fell on the area between April and August, landing on the higher end of Haldimand’s average 14-17 inches of rainfall for that time of year.
Burley noted some farmers reported 3-5 inches of rain in a single week of the summer.
“Like any year, it’s the timing of the rain that really matters. We had a nice dry spring that enabled growers to begin planting in the first half of May, which wasn’t the case for many other areas in the province,” he said, adding that a higher frequency of showers in June led to some delays in planting the final portion of certain crops around the county.
“Many growers struggled getting the wheat harvested in due time and because of the excessive and rampant rainfall there were many growers that dealt with low falling numbers or sprouted wheat,” added Burley. “While yields were generally average or above, the downgrades associated with low falling numbers or sprouted wheat factors heavily into a grower’s profit. Many growers have struggled getting a good dry forage or hay crop off because of the various and rampant storms.”
He noted that while temperatures have been warm enough to encourage crop growth all season, the excessive rainfalls have also encouraged diseases, including mildews, moulds, lodging, and wet feet, all leading to crop loss.
“Foggy and dewy mornings greatly exacerbate this issue,” he said. “While soybeans and corn need moisture to grow, too much rainfall also encourages disease.”
He also noted that some farmers have reported lodging in some taller soybean fields over the past two weeks during heavy rainfall events. Lodging refers to stalks bending over or falling down instead of standing upright, typically the result of heavy rain or wind, disease, or high plant density: “Ultimately, when lodging occurs in beans it is essentially a yield loss,” said Burley.

Elgersma highlighted another disease that has been seen on local corn crops the past two seasons: “Tar spot is a disease that has slowly gotten worse over the last two growing seasons. In 2023, the disease set in late enough that its presence was seen but yield was virtually unaffected. In 2024, tar spot first appeared July 14, a month earlier than last year, thriving on the high humidity and extended periods of leaf wetness.”
Burley said combatting the spread of any such diseases has been top of mind for many local farmers this year.
“More fungicides than average have been applied to both soybeans and corn in the county to protect the crop. In high yielding situations, fungicides and foliar applications usually have a beneficial payoff to the grower,” he explained. “As crop prices have come down almost 50% over the past two years, growers are trying to maximize their ROI (return on investment) wherever possible. On average, spraying a T3 fungicide on wheat this year paid off more than 7bu/ac, and quite likely helped maintain crop quality during the rainfall at harvest.”
He further noted that advancing technologies play a key role in addressing and overcoming the challenges of any given year in the fields: “Every year, farming techniques and technology become more important to each grower and their operation. It is not a one-size-fits-all and we see many growers adapting their tillage, planting, spraying, or fertilizer practices that fit their fields and farm in order to increase profits. The great thing about farming is next year you have the ability to improve upon the year prior.”
Elgersma added, “Although we have had some wet periods during planting and harvest, it always amazes me how fast growers are able to get the acres done, thanks to advancing equipment technologies and higher yielding early maturing varieties. Many growers are seeing the reward in their many dollars invested in tile drainage, which moves the excess water off the farm quicker and enables for better working field conditions.”

Burley concluded with a forecast for how the season might wrap up.
“We expect an earlier than average start to soybean harvest, because of the early planting, adequate (excessive) moisture, and enough heat. Because of that, there may be a large number of wheat acres that are planted this fall, as long as the weather permits. Corn harvest we are scouting fields to see what kind of quality concerns we may be dealing with. Rainfall at flowering – excessive amounts – can be a swoon to giberella and other diseases, which can affect corn quality.”
Burley said there were many lessons for the apt farmer to take from this year.
“This year it certainly paid to spray your wheat; and we expect to see that replicated for soybeans as well as corn,” he concluded. “Catching problems early in a year like this is a must and so it has certainly paid to scout your fields. Knowing what is going on in them is key in a year like this in order to catch problems and rectify the situation.”