After a few years of drought, this asparagus farmer in Cambridge welcomes wet weather
Barrie said recent weather patterns has him worried for anyone who wants to become a farmer
The past two years has seen some dry conditions in Waterloo region, so the amount of rain so far this summer has been good news for farmers like Tim Barrie, owner of Barrie's Asparagus Farm in Cambridge.
"I remember last year, we had one inch of rain," Barrie told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition host Craig Norris on Monday.
Though it was a drier spring for him, Barrie said the amount of rain the region's seen over the last two weeks has helped his asparagus fern grow to more than 1.8 metres compared to last year when they only grew to 1.3 metres by the end of the season.
"There was a lot of worry and then the season ended and all this rain that seemed to never come has come so frequently," he said.
"It's been amazing ... we got over six feet of fern in two weeks since we stopped harvesting and we never had that all year. It's these swings we're seeing in the weather and what we weren't getting, we're now getting in abundance."
The University of Waterloo's weather station reported last year's total rainfall for the region was 580 mm. This year's total so far is already at 476 mm.
Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist from with Environment Canada, told CBC News different weather patterns can settle in during the summer months as different systems move through the Great Lakes area, bringing spotty rainfall and more severe storms.
"Some areas get really heavy downpours and other areas are not getting as much," he said.
"Certainly the pattern we've been in over the last number of days and going forward for the next week or so is slightly cooler than normal and and somewhat more unsettled than normal."
Our asparagus fern is now over 6ft thanks to the amazing rainfalls. We have had more rain in last 2 weeks than last years entire summer! <a href="https://twitter.com/onasparagus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@onasparagus</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/craignorriscbc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@craignorriscbc</a> <a href="https://t.co/LmnOdscZDj">pic.twitter.com/LmnOdscZDj</a>
—@4loveofaspargus'Feast or famine with the weather'
Barrie said the weather in recent years "feels off," noting in his are of the region, they would get no rain sometimes, even though the forecast would call for a high chance of showers.
"Take last year, after harvest, we didn't get any rain in the entire summer. All those 80 or 90 [per cent change of showers] turned into nothing and then this year for it to continue on in the spring," he said.
"You're listening to the weather forecast and you're also hearing about smoke, forest fires ... in your brain, it's hard to process because we're in the spring and you're hearing about forest fires and no rain," he added.
"Something has definitely changes and it seems like feast or famine with the weather."
Barrie said this has him worried for anyone who wants to become a farmer and says people in the industry have to be prepared to work in a different climate.
He said now, farmers are faced with different questions, especially around rain.
"I didn't face that years ago. It was a matter of it's coming, we just don't know when, versus now: Is it coming at all?"