Sunday marked a chance for city folk to take a look at where their food comes from during Open Farm Day – but the recent lack has shifted the focus from what grows in the ground to what falls in the sky.

Rainfall amounts have been far below average this year in much of the province.

"I've never seen anything like it, and I've lived here all my life," said farm manager Bryon Wells.

The hot, dry weather over the summer has affected most regions of the province, with the issue especially dire in southwest Nova Scotia.

In Windsor, the town issued a mandatory water conservation advisory on Friday.

"What the mandatory advisory will allow us to do is if we do see some users washing cars or watering lawns excessively, we can do some PR, go see them, tell them the situation that we're in and hopefully they can reduce their consumption," said Todd Richard, director of Public Works.

Windsor's Mill Lake is faced with low water levels, which is especially concerning with it being town's main water reservoir

While the apple orchard gets its water from a root stock, the situation is still affecting Bryon Mason's farm.

"We've actually stopped watering our crops,” said Mason. “The pumpkins are about ready for harvest, a bit smaller than normal, and I'm just hoping it's going to rain tonight."

In the meantime, many farmers will continue to check the weather forecast. 

"Hopefully mother nature will co-operate and give us some much needed rain," said Richard.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Allan April.