Difficult spring weather leads to summer crops struggling

LE SUEUR, Minn. (KEYC) - This year’s unusually cold spring has been a known issue for farmers.

Planting season was pushed back and the true scope of the weather has yet to be seen.

But crops that are harvested throughout the summer, such as sweet corn and strawberries, are already showing signs of the difficult spring.

“At the farm, we’ve had what I would consider a crop failure. We usually harvest about 10 tons off our property, We have got maybe about a ton, so a 90% loss,” said Scott Wilson, owner of the Brewery Hill Farm.

Brewery Hill Farm in Le Sueur said that the loss of crop has interrupted the usual summer flow of the farm.

“When we do berry picking we have thousands of people actually come out. And it’s a very big outing for them, it’s a cool outing. It’s kind of a fleeting moment because it lasts about two to three weeks in June. So we were only open for berry picking two times in very limited time frames,” Wilson said.

A cold spring meant plants were unable to be planted or take root until almost a month late, followed by an immense heat that damaged any budding plants.

The end result is a crop half the size of its usual state, and few berries to go around.

Brewery Hill Farm said that they can’t lament the loss of the crop, as they have several other seasonal crops to attend to and make sure those crops come out alright.

“All you can do in life is keep doing the right thing. If you do the right thing and do the best thing you can, next year’s crop can be good. I can’t change what I can’t change.”

Copyright 2022 KEYC. All rights reserved.