A wet start to the spring means farmers are late getting some of their crops in the ground, but that does not mean the harvest will start late.
Dave Epp, the second vice president for Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers in Leamington, says that will depend on how the weather is this summer.
"Specifically on tomatoes, odds are we could still have a mid-August start, which would be normal. Maybe a few days later," he says. "It's too early to push any panic buttons yet. In a month we'll know if the season is going to be delayed."
With a stretch of sunshine settled over Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent for a few days, he believes farmers will catch up.
"There has been some crop that has gone into the ground on the very highest sands, on the driest ground," he says. "Not much activity has occurred on the heavier clay soils."
Peas were planted in April. Epp says some farmers have planted sweet corn on the high sands, and as for tomatoes, "and it's been in fits and starts."
While May is not usually so wet, Epp says it is not like farmers have no experience with changes in the weather.
"When it comes to weather and farming, all normal is is an average of extremes," he explains. "We've had seasons like this before."
Once the crops are planted, he fully expects they will compensate.
"As long as they go into good conditions. The old saying is 'plant into dust, and your bins will bust', and there's a lot of truth in that," Epp says.