Wellington County has seen some extreme heat and occasionally heavy downpours in recent weeks.
Wilting, drying, and germination issues are all a part of a heat wave in farming, according to Janet Harrop, President of the Wellington Federation of Agriculture.
Luckily, Harrop says plants do have built-in mechanisms to counteract the high temperatures, such as the fact that their roots can stretch five to six feet into the ground.
She adds crops can be put in precarious situations when rain is sporadic and heavy.
She prefers drier climate earlier in the year, she says, and while heavy rainfall is a risk to crops, there have been advancements to help counteract this.
The amount of rain a crop needs is specific to each plant, and there have been a lot of fast, rapidly growing plants due to heavy rainfall.
Before and after 1.4 inches of rain on Thursday at Harrop’s farm. Photos by Janet Harrop. 
Certain animals have a higher core body temperature because of how they digest their food, Harrop explains. She says while the heat can be hard on them, farms have sprinklers and fans to keep them cool.
