Last year, Ontario farmers, including those around the Golden Horseshoe, were hit hard by persistent drought conditions in the late summer and early fall, with a number of growers confirming a significant hit to their yields.

But this year, Mother Nature may be stacking a much stronger deck in favour of growers. Credit Valley Conservation Authority, which serves large parts of the GTA, shared its assessment of groundwater conditions this past week, saying that winter wallop is leaving a farm-friendly legacy.

“A deep snowpack acts like a natural reservoir. As it melts, it slowly releases water into the ground, helping recharge aquifers and replenish groundwater supplies … This recharge is especially important after the late-summer and fall drought conditions we experienced last year,” the Authority said, adding that healthy groundwater levels are vital for agricultural communities.

“It will keep things wet, and it will actually increase yields over time,” said Sylvain Charlebois, the Director of Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. He notes that there’s been a lot of snow across the country and that groundwater conditions, particularly in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic, are strong.

Charlebois says replenished groundwater levels, which we lacked last year, act like a sponge to help farmers ride out periods of low rainfall. He adds that this is a good time for water shortages not to be a factor, as food prices face upward pressure from other places.

“It’s really something we need right now, given energy costs are going up. To haul food right now, to do anything, is going to cost more,” he said.

Meanwhile, Charles Aubin, who grows several crops including fruit, berries and maple at his organic farm in Hamilton, says he was lucky with reliable well water but agrees last year was memorably dry.

“It was dry generally, we didn’t do a lot of watering, so some of our crops didn’t get what they needed,” he explained. However, he agrees that water tables in the area are looking much better compared to the same time last year, and the mood among growers is much better as well.

“A good start to the year for the plants, especially the trees. Trees have a lot of distress when the seasons are really dry.”