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Sarnia

Farmers Weathering Cold, Wet Spring

Area farmers are taking the unusually cold, wet month of April in stride.

After a cold front drops temperatures well below normal again Wednesday, the longer term forecast into next week calls for a considerable warm-up.

Environment Canada expects the mercury to reach 20 C or more early next week.

Lambton Grains Committee Chair Kevin Marriott says farmers aren't worried just yet, provided that forecast holds.

"We could catch up real fast for the first of May work to proceed," says Marriott. "It would be a little bit on the late side, but nothing that will be too hurtful. We've had some really wet Aprils before, it's been a while, we've been kind of spoiled."

Marriott says 2017 was fairly wet as well, but it was warmer so it didn't seem quite as bad. He says farmers are concerned about possible damage to winter wheat crops.

"It definitely has a little bit of damage from all of the rain," he says. "But, with some warm weather, some of those damaged areas could come back and be a normal crop."

He says ponding water on fields suffocates the crop, which is planted in the fall and left to germinate and develop during the winter before resuming growth in the spring.

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