EDITORIAL: Farmers forced to face harsh realities of weather’s moods

Posted 9/23/14

Fall is a transitional season, and since meteorological autumn started Sept. 1, the transitions have been extreme. On Sept. 11-13, a cold snap from Canada swept through the Basin, dropping temperatures into the 20s. An official low of 24 was …

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EDITORIAL: Farmers forced to face harsh realities of weather’s moods

Posted

What a difference a few degrees can make.

Just ask farmers in the Big Horn Basin. They have literally experienced lows and highs in the past two weeks and will feel the impact in their bank accounts. They know that, since it’s the business they have chosen and nothing they haven’t seen before.

Fall is a transitional season, and since meteorological autumn started Sept. 1, the transitions have been extreme. On Sept. 11-13, a cold snap from Canada swept through the Basin, dropping temperatures into the 20s. An official low of 24 was recorded on Sept. 12.

That’s below freezing and beyond the tolerance for many plants. The Basin’s bean crop was severely damaged, we were told last week. Beans that were once green and healthy swiftly turned black as the plants died.

The losses to our farmers, and to the local economy, were severe, likely in the millions of dollars. One local expert said a farmer told him his loss may reach $250,000.

A frost in the high 20s may not have done as much damage. But this was a hard, killing freeze.

Other crops were damaged as well. We have witnessed an increase in the amount of corn planted and harvested in the region in recent years. More of the corn is being combined and sold as grain, as prices for the crop have spiked.

That corn needed until the end of September to fully mature but because of the surprisingly early frost, it will instead be converted into silage to be fed to cattle, and not the best silage, either.

That will cut into profits, too.

Thankfully, sugar beets were apparently not harmed by the frost. But in a truly ironic twist, the early harvest has been slowed by temperatures in the 80s. Piling up beets in hot weather is a poor idea, so work slowed last week. The yield looks to be average but the sugar content may be slightly above that, in part thanks to the cooler weather, which is believed to push the plant to produce more sugar.

There is other good news, as we’re told the barley crop may be the best ever seen in our area. Many producers are seeing yields of up to 130 bushels per acre, with a report of 150 bushels per acre in at least one field. The barley was almost completely harvested before the frost hit.

The farmers were due a break.

They started the year behind, thanks to persistent spring rains. Fields were too wet to plant, and that forced a later start to the growing season. That made some crops vulnerable to an early frost, which, of course, is what happened.

We don’t hear farmers crying about this. They’re realists. They know they are at the mercy of rain, heat or cold. Too much or too little of any of those can play havoc with their harvests. But they still turn their tractors toward the field and put in long days in a variety of weather conditions.

We’re hoping they get dry weather and good fortune as they conclude this year’s harvest. Powell, Park County and the Big Horn Basin are all very dependent on agriculture, and we try to keep a keen eye on what is developing in the fields.

We admire the effort and courage of these men and women who put their money, time and sweat into growing the crops that feed and fuel our nation and world. It will take more than a bad break and wild weather to change that.

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