Sudbury farmers anxious to dig in to spring planting

The cool, wet weather isn't boding well for farmers in the Sudbury area, and the slow start to spring has put the planting season behind schedule.

Stuart McCall is itching to get out onto his fields at his McGrows Farm in Garson.

Instead, he's stuck on the tractor pathway, waiting for the spring melt to stop turning everything to mud.

“Things look like they are a little bit behind this year because of the amount of snow and the depth of the frost and the amount of melt in a short period of time,” he said.

“We have a bit of an issue here with lots of flooding. But I think it will eventually turn around. I hope, anyway.”

McCall has started planting some of his vegetable crops inside. His basement nursery is stuffed full of transplants and seedlings.

“We are just waiting for the weather to change for us a little bit so we can get some of this stuff outside and planted.”

Down the highway in Sturgeon Falls, Mitch Deschatelets is also wondering when the planting season will start at Leisure Farms, where he is a manager.

“Right now we would normally have all the cereals in the ground such as oats, wheat, barley,” he said.

Both farmers said all it will take to get back on track for the season is a couple weeks of warmer weather.

But that won't likely happen right away, as cool temperatures continue and more rain is in the forecast later in the week.