Rain, Cold Could Delay Crops; Officials Seek State, Federal Help

Check out this story from the Watertown Daily Times.

Go to https://www.nny360.com/communitynews/agriculture/officials-prepare-for-possible-crop-shortage-seek-state-and-federal/article_92d078a4-3f66-5bb9-9be6-a0cb1e2ac343.html

Cool Temperatures, Rain Delay Planting in Some Parts of NYS

The cool temperatures and rain have delayed planting in many parts of the state.

Here is a story from the North Country.

Read it at http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/few-weeks-of-rain-and-cold-delay-crop-planting-little-to-no-other-impact-for-farmers-20170522 this link.

Help is Here for Farms Dealing With Winter Storm Stella

From Cornell University:

Keith Tidball, director of the Extension Disaster Education Network, put together some a list of resources and actions steps to assist farmers with dealing with Winter Storm Stella. 

As the recent winter storm loses steam and thoughts turn towards digging out, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Disaster Education Network (NY EDEN - http://eden.cce.cornell.edu) continues to assist the citizens of New York state with helpful resources.  

Examples of evidence-based resources being distributed throughout the state before, during, and after the storm via the Cooperative Extension System include:

• Farmstead Recovery Checklist: Snow Load & Barn Collapse​ 
• Roof Ice Damming and Attic Condensation Problems  
• Preparing for the Thaw​ 
• Heavy Snow Loads and Agricultural Buildings
• Do’s and Don’ts for Barn Snow Removal

Also note that the Cornell Cooperative Extension Disaster Education Network hosts an active Twitter account where timely information is posted beyond the resources above, as well as updates and situation reports as incidents unfold. Find the Twitter account at https://twitter.com/CCE_Disaster

Something to Remember

This is something we all should remember!!!

"Wine" About the Winter at March 21 Event

Anyone fed up with this winter will have a chance to 'wine' about it at the upcoming "Wine About Winter" Festival in Syracuse.

The festival will be Saturday, March 21 at the OnCenter. Wines can be sampled from Pazdar Winery, Half Moon Cellars, Ashley Lynn Winery, Lakeland Winery, Merrit Estates, Thousand Islands Winery, Vetter Vineyards, Montezuma Winery, Miles Wine Cellars, Villa Verona Vineyard, Crooked Lake Winery and more. 

Tickets are on sale at all Wegmans grocery stores or at this website: www.syracusewinefest.com

Does Ice and Cold in Northern New York Harm Alfalfa?

From the Northern New York Cornell Cooperative Extension Field Crops Team:

Cornell Cooperative Extension offices in Northern New York have fielded several questions regarding ice and risk of winterkill in alfalfa recently.  

It’s a good topic for discussion right now as much of the Northern New York landscape was covered with an inch or two of solid ice.

The ice coating outdoor surfaces in early January was the result of freezing rain and sleet that fell just a few days before Christmas. 

The storm caused lots of immediate damage in the form of downed tree limbs and power outages and it continues to bruise knees, but many are now wondering if the ice also poses an additional risk to alfalfa.

Ice sheeting is associated with increased risk of winterkill in alfalfa, but the conditions now in the North Country are probably not likely to worsen winterkill and may actually be a protective feature for alfalfa.

Alfalfa is an enormously important perennial legume across Northern New York because of its high yield potential and high feed value for high-producing dairy cattle.

With proper management, alfalfa stands can last up to 5 years or more and a more persistent, longer lifespan generally means a better economic return.  All too often though, alfalfa stands can become thin and less productive after the third year and harsh winter conditions can exacerbate this decline.

Historically, risk of winter damage to alfalfa has been linked to several environmental and management factors: age of the stand, variety, disease pressures, soil pH and K, cutting schedule and soil moisture and drainage.

The risk of winterkill increases with advancing age of the alfalfa stand. Younger plants (1-2 years) are generally more stress tolerant compared to older plants (2+ years) because they’ve been exposed to less physical damage and disease organisms.  

Alfalfa varieties vary in winter hardiness as well as resistance to diseases and pests, and choosing a variety that resists diseases such as Phytophthora root rot and Verticillium, bacterial and Fusarium wilts, will reduce the risk of stand loss due to winterkill.

Soil pH below 6.0 stresses alfalfa plants and can exacerbate winter injury.  A soil pH of 6.6 or greater removes this risk.

High exchangeable soil K (>160 ppm) reduces risk of winterkill and conversely, a low exchangeable K (<80 ppm) can make winter injury much more likely by reducing root health and fall carbohydrate storage.

The timing of cutting (or grazing) affects the persistence of alfalfa too. Several factors come into play - stage of maturity, frequency and timing of cutting, and the timing and stubble height of the last fall cutting.  

Harvesting alfalfa at late bud to early flowering stage will optimize both forage yield and quality and results in better stand persistence. Leave a 6 to 8 inch stubble in the fall to effectively catch a layer of snow for insulation.

Finally, let’s talk about ice and its effect on winterkill. We know that alfalfa stands typically do not survive well on poorly drained soils. Poorly drained areas can suffer 2 types of winter injury as a result of the combination of cold and excess moisture.  

Where soil remains wet, frost can heave alfalfa plants out of the ground in late winter and early spring.  Heaved plants may have broken taproots, or the crown may be left up above the soil where it is exposed to cold, dry winds and mechanical injury later in the season. Diseases will often invade the weakened root and the plant dies during the summer.

If water accumulates and freezes on the plants and soil surface, this is referred to as ice ‘sheeting.’  Ice sheeting can occur in low areas as the result of a mid-winter thaw or from sleet and freezing rain as we’ve recently experienced. Ice sheets cause winter injury by smothering plants and by rapidly conducting heat away from the plants and soil surface leading to very low soil temperatures.  The longer the ice remains on the soil surface, the greater the risk of economic damage.

This winter, however, the 1 to 2 inches of ice is above several inches of snow that fell before the freezing rain and sleet just before Christmas. Right now, alfalfa crowns and roots may actually be protected by the ice because it has held an insulating layer of snow on the plants during some very cold temperatures and high winds. 

If ice formed directly on the alfalfa crowns and soil, no such protection would occur, and the plants would be at risk of smothering and loss.  In lab research trials, alfalfa plants directly covered with ice began to die after about a week, and most were dead within a month.

Our present situation here in Northern New York, though uncomfortable for humans, may be just fine for alfalfa.

Meteorologist Says Recent Weather An Aberration

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says the recent frigid weather was an aberration and that the rest of the winter in most areas of the nation should be milder than normal.

In this clip, he also talks about the recent cold snap, the effect on agriculture, the current drought conditions, and the rest of the winter.

1- Rippey says this week’s weather, while severe, was an aberration. :22

2-Rippey says the cold’s effect on agriculture was minimal, but parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas may see some crop damage. :39

3-The rest of the winter should be milder than average in most of the nation, with some exceptions. :55

4-The drought situation in parts of the west is still severe. :42


Go to ftp://ocbmtcmedia.download.akamai.com/23747/TV_Features/winter%20weather.mov to see Rippey's report. Username is usdaftp and password is 1qaz2wsx

Pick Apples at Abbotts for A Good Cause

Hey folks!!

Give Abbotts Farm in Lysander a call if you can help them out.

Here is what they posted on their Facebook page today:

we need some input from our community... 
We have had an outstanding year here on the farm! The best strawberries we have ever grown, our first ever blueberry festival, and fun filled fall season. So, here we are at the end of the season, and we have a problem. We have way more apples on the trees to be picked than we can move on our own. We are proposing an idea, and we will need your help. We will need to organize one day this coming week where we would invite you, our CNY community, to help us pick as many apples as we can and donate them to area food pantries, the food bank, rescue mission, hospitals, nursing homes and more. Representatives from these organizations will be invited to the farm to take all they can from what is picked. We have been in contact with several of these charitable groups and the word is spreading. Before we go any further we need to make sure we have the means to pick and process all this produce. So the question is would you come out to the farm for an hour or two, and help pick apples for some folks who could really use them. In return for you helping us we will help you by giving all the volunteers a bag of apples for free to take home as well. Let us know what you think and leave any feedback you may have. Mother nature is not on our side here, with the cold temps we will need to do something quickly before the apples are no good. So if we are to go ahead with this it will need to happen soon.

Go to https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=748106301871123&id=152962688052157 to leave a message on whether you can help.

Caring for Calves in Cold Weather

Check out this http://dairyline.com/wpbackend/?p=6990 podcast about caring for calves in the colder weather.