Wet, soggy spring leaves New Brunswick farmers frustrated

Farmers across New Brunswick are growing frustrated with a bout of persistent wet weather.

Some growers have told Global News that they’ve been unable to get into the fields for spring planting.

Christian Michaud is a farmer from Bouctouche, N.B., and he says just getting to his fields feels like an outing in a mud bog.

“It is frustrating and it can be very demoralizing when you need to put stuff in the ground and you look outside and this is what you get,” said Michaud, pointing at his soggy fields.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It is frustrating and it can be very demoralizing when you need to put stuff in the ground and you look outside and this is what you get," said Michaud, pointing at his soggy fields.

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The mud is up to Michaud’s ankles in his fields, and he says he is growing more and more frustrated with the weather.

He has managed to get some crops planted on higher ground, but trying to get a tractor through the waterlogged fields to finish up his spring planting has been a losing battle.

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“We still got one tractor stuck this spring,” said Michaud.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We still got one tractor stuck this spring," said Michaud.

He said he is at least two weeks behind schedule in planting, and about 30 per cent of his crops are still not in the ground.

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According to Environment Canada weather records, it has been a record-breaking spring for rainfall in some areas of New Brunswick.

During the month of April, Bouctouche saw a reported total of 183 millimetres of rainfall. The normal amount is 86 millimetres.

The same rang true for Fredericton, where more than double the normal amount of rain fell last month.

Buzz Harvey, who farms in Maugerville, N.B., said he hasn’t been able to get into his fields for 10 days, adding that he was concerned the setback may cause a delay to the harvest later in the season.

He and Michaud say soggy springs are becoming the norm.

Michaud has had to change the way he farms in recent years by rotating crops to higher and sandier ground in order to make the most of the relatively short growing season.

He said that three out of the last four springs have been pretty much a washout.

“This is two years in a row now. Last spring was pretty crappy, and this spring is pretty crappy, too,” he said.