KEMPTVILLE — Winterkill has hammered the hay crop across Eastern Ontario and in some parts of East central Ontario.

"In most areas of eastern Ontario, farmers lost more than 50 per cent of alfalfa," said OMAFRA forage specialist Gilles Quesnel. Farms surrounding Ottawa suffered the most as "90 per cent of alfalfa was killed in some areas of Carleton County," Quesnel said.

"By mid-April, most farmers knew where they were standing and a lot of growers were able to re-seed," Quesnel said. "We had a window of opportunity to re-seed in April."

Brothers John and Richard Fraser, near Richmond, south of urban Ottawa, lost about 250 acres of hay this year due to winterkill. "It was a 100 per cent write-off," Richard Fraser said. "This was the worst year. We have had years where we lost 60 to 70 per cent."

Rural Ottawa farmer Peter Ruiter turned his champion hay field into no-till corn this year. His hay field won top honours for best quality field and best quality hay in Carleton County last year. Then he discovered he lost most of the hay in April. He lost 48 acres, about 60 per cent of his hay crop. "It was still a $5,000 hit," he said. "This was the worst year for winterkill that I’ve ever had."

He said when he looked at his fields on April 15, he thought the alfalfa was going to grow. Five days later in some fields, 97 per cent was dead. "It was unbelievable."

He said that normally he loses a small amount of alfalfa to winterkill about one year in five. "But this year the lack of snow cover turned the fields to skating rinks and suffocated the plants."