Some local producers can do little more than wait, thanks to the recent rainfall throughout the region. Portage area farmer Craig Finnie says they've been forced to wait for better weather, as the fields are far too damp to continue working.

"(Work) has come to a complete halt. Ourselves, we have a few acres of edible beans left to plant, but I wonder if we'll even get them planted in time for the crop insurance deadline. We're not in that bad of shape, because we have most of our crop in. It's coming relatively good, but some of the low spots have water in them."

The insurance deadline for edible bean crop insurance for the area is June 6th. With rain continuing today, Finnie anticipates they may have to change their plans for the fields that have yet to be seeded. However, he adds the wet conditions have created additional challenges for the crops that have already been planted as well.

"If it's too late for edible beans, we'll probably still seed some canola or wheat on that particular field. It will make it a little bit late now. One of the other concerns is we have lots of spraying that should be done, the fields have to dry up enough to do that. It just means the weeds are growing faster than ever now."

Finnie says even if we were to see warm, dry conditions over the next several days, it could take just under a week for the fields to be dry enough to travel on. With the delays, he says there's starting to be a sense of frustration around the region.

"We're just getting a little more frustrating every day, I guess. Nothing too drastic yet, but it's starting to look a little more serious in terms of seeding and getting some of the spraying done. Not all of them, but some of the earlier fields are getting to the point where they should be sprayed soon."

Overall Finnie says they've seen enough moisture for now, and are now hoping for dryer conditions.