What impact does a mild winter have on local agriculture?

WELLINGTON COUNTY – A milder winter will have some impacts to agriculture in Wellington County, but it’s not necessarily all bad.

“This is Ontario, temperature changes all the time and we have an El Nino I think happening right now that’s basically thrown off our traditional weather patterns,” said Barclay Nap, Puslinch farmer and Wellington Federation of Agriculture president.

In a phone interview, Nap said this winter so far has been marked by a lack of moisture and snow covering on crops which can be problematic for some crops planted in the fall such as winter wheat, garlic or alfalfa.

Josh Nasielski, U of G agronomist or crop scientist, explained the snow acts as an insulator much in the same way as an igloo.