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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. 

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From Dry to Thrive: Forage Fixes for Future Fortitude

Video: From Dry to Thrive: Forage Fixes for Future Fortitude

Presented by Christine O'Reilly, Forage & Grazing Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA).

Prolonged dry weather impacted many regions of Ontario in 2025. With the growing season behind us, how can livestock farmers set their forage crops up for success next year? This session covers the short-term agronomy to bounce back quickly, as well as exploring options for building drought resilience into forage systems for the future.

The purpose of the Forage Focus conference is to bring fresh ideas and new research results to Ontario forage producers across the ruminant livestock and commercial hay sectors