Rainy summer weather a boon and a barrier for Yukon farmers

A cooler, wettersummer is forcing Yukon farmers to adapt and it's come with both challenges and rewards.

Sarah Ouellette was named Yukon's Farmer of the Year in 2019, but this year she's having a bit of trouble.

"It's really wet and really muddy. Some stuff is suffering from too much rain," she said of her crops at Lake Laberge, north of Whitehorse. "Some stuff is just rotting from too much moisture, so that is disappointing."

Vulnerable plants are the ones at ground level, like dill, cilantro and lettuce.

But Ouellette says the rain is also a benefit.

Her table at theFireweed Community Market in Whitehorse offers a bounty of kale, kohlrabi, cabbage and other greens she says are doing very well.

Like all farmers in Yukon this year, she's had to adapt.

"It's really surprising to me. I've never been farming with so much rain and also relatively cool weather," she said.

Cooler weather helps some crops

Bart Bounds, who owns and operates Elemental Farm on Takhini River Road, outside Whitehorse, says he's received less rain than people in the city. The farm sits in what he calls a "rain hole," meaning a reliably drier and sunnier microclimate.

Like Ouellette, Bounds hasn't irrigated as much this year. He says more rain is welcome.

"Every little bit helps, and it's got that high nitrogen level that comes from rainwater. Everything likes rain," he said.

Bounds says cooler temperatures may have delayed the season, but the yield has been good.

"A lot of the greens thrive in the cooler weather. They produce more sugars and flavours and are crispier when it's cooler out," he said.

At Elemental Farm, some produce such as carrots, beets and other rootvegetables is coming in late this year.

"Otherthan that, things are growing great," Bounds said.

Fewer bees and more mosquitos

The rainy weather isn't breaking records but it is unusual this year for Whitehorse.

At the Circle D Ranch in Ibex Valley, agricultural workers like Aline Halliday are noting some changes. Haskap berries are about a month late.

Halliday is also seeing fewer bees.

"The bees don't like to go outside in the rain as much, so they don't pollinate as much," she said. "We have fewer berries than last year because of that.

Mosquitoes however are "loving the rain," she said.

Staff at the Circle D ranch are all wearing bug hats and bug spray as they work on weed control. The rainy weather has also given weeds a boost.

Hay farmers waitingfor dry weather

Food crops aren't the only thing affected by rain and humidity.

Ann-Marie Stockley has been harvesting hay outside Whitehorse more than 30 years.

She said the family is now waiting for at least three dry days in a row, "which hasn't happened very often in July."

The reason is that the hay needs to dry. Too much moisture can invite mould and rot especially if the hay is baled while humid.

"Rain is good generally for hay. Imagine a hay crop being similar to your lawn just on a larger scale. When it rains a lot, it's green and lush. It's never stressed out. It's not the growing that's a problem, it's the harvesting," Stockley said.

While the farm is a little behind schedule,Stockley said she isn't really worried yet. The yield has been good and she says the weather report forecastssome dry weather this week, whichshould mean the family can leap intobaling and storing the hay in a large barn.

"By the calendar we're late, but by the maturity of the plant, we're not. As long as we get [dry]weather soon so that we get these crops off, and dry before all that fall yucky weather comes, we should be OK."