Reflecting on the Year That Was: The Tough 2025 Growing Season and What We Can Do Going Forward

There's no doubt that 2025 was a challenging year for farms of all types, all across the province. Certainly a year many growers will be happy to wave goodbye to but it's worth asking in a year of adversity what we can take with us to do better in the future:

1. We can't farm last year's weather.

2. What tools are in our tool belt.

3. We are our biggest asset.

We can't farm last year's weather.

When we have extreme conditions, like we saw with the drought this year, it's tempting to make some wholesale changes to mitigate the risks from a similar drought in future years. But if we take a moment to pause, we can realize that 2024 was vastly different than 2025, to the point where we would have put ourselves in a tough spot if we planned our 2025 growing season around 2024. A better strategy is to aim to set ourselves up for success no matter what Mother Nature throws at us - good soil bed, correct fertility and a good weed control program. Picking good genetics that have good late season plant health and good yield potential will help to make the most of our environment.

Consider What Tools We Need to Add

With the volatility of both the markets and the weather, we might need to think about what other resources we need to utilize to help our success. Crop insurance, outside advisors or new cropping practices like variable rate or a fungicide applicaiton on corn might be strategies that we consider putting onto the roster to bring out depending on the year. Knowing what we need to add in different growing seasons might require a team providing guidence so take some time to make note of who your go to resources are. Winter is a great time to meet with our team and discuss what we might be able to do in different situations.

We are our biggest asset.

Mental health has finally become a common conversation in agriculture and frankly, it's about time. In particularly challenging years, it can get harder to manage our wellbeing on our own. Farmers, their families along with employees and their families in Ontario have access to the Farmers Wellness Initiative free, 24/7, to provide support through the ups and downs of agriculture. Take time this winter season to slow down and recharge where you can so we can enter the 2026 growing season ready to grow.

One of the Last Corn Plots of 2025