January was a really weird month for weather. Instead of getting snow, we got a lot of rain. A lot of people were glad to not to have to deal with the snow. It’s a little bit of a different story for farmers. The freezing and thawing will likely be a problem for us this spring.
During the winter months the crops are dormant, but they are still living and breathing organisms. Alfalfa fields are an example of fields that go dormant in the winter. The crop regrows in the spring without having to be replanted. Snow is important for these fields because it traps the crop and holds it in place. The snow also provides a constant temperature and insulation for the soil. We want the ground to freeze, but we want it to stay frozen and not thaw halfway through winter.
With all of the rain we had in January, followed by temperatures dropping below freezing, there is the potential in the fields for the rainwater to essentially suffocate and kill the crops. I met with an agronomist last week and right now, we don’t really know how it will turn out. After another month or so, we’ll have a better feel of what the rain in January means for the fields.
At this point, we’re pretty sure we’ll have spots in the fields that will be dead. We rely heavily on the agronomists, the soil experts, to guide the steps we’ll take this spring. We’ll have to determine if we will be able to patch the fields – replant the seeds only in the areas where the crop was killed – or if we’ll have to rotate the entire field to a new crop.
Field and soil health is something we think about all year round, even when the crops aren’t actually growing. We’re expecting to have new alfalfa for the cows to eat at the end of May. What happens if we don’t have that because too much of the alfalfa crop died? This is where planning and preparing comes into play.
We always need feed for the cows; they are our main focus. Without good consistent feed, they aren’t able to produce the high-quality milk that we take so much pride in. We should have enough feed in storage to make up for any loss we may have this spring. If not, we are fortunate to have the option of working with crop farmers and purchasing any feed we need if there isn’t enough.
