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Farmers behind as wet, cool weather delays planting

Posted 5/28/11

By CRAIG FREILICH The wet, cool weather in recent weeks has put many area farmers behind schedule, causing some to miss the best times for tilling and planting. And some farmers are wondering whether …

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Farmers behind as wet, cool weather delays planting

Posted

By CRAIG FREILICH

The wet, cool weather in recent weeks has put many area farmers behind schedule, causing some to miss the best times for tilling and planting.

And some farmers are wondering whether they should even bother planting grass seed for hay, and thinking about planting shorter-season corn when conditions in their fields finally improve.

“In terms of perennials – grasses, alfalfa, fruit trees – they all seem about two weeks behind normal this spring,” said Stephen Canner, Field Crops Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County, based outside of Canton.

“It’s due to the cold primarily. It has warmed up some in the last couple of weeks and caught up some, but they still need heat to grow,” he said.

Rain has also been a factor, as it always is early in the planting season.

“We had near-record rainfall in April. And there has been more in the last few days. It’s quite wet.”

As of last week, Canner reports, “there were relatively few farmers actually plowing and spreading manure. There’s still a lot of mud. There are always people that push that envelope and go out into the fields and sometimes make a big mess. But they do it because they figure they won’t have the time to do it when conditions get better.”

But Canner said that some farmers are getting a start on tilling, spreading and planting corn now.

“But it’s a little risky. When it’s cold and wet, the corn seed could rot in the ground. We’ll see if it turns out to be a good gamble. If it warms up, the seed could outrun the fungi that would rot it, but it will be harder if it stays cold and damp.

“As with any crop, it’s always a race between the species you want and the species you don’t.”

That holds true for hay, too.

Fresh seedings of grasses for hay are behind schedule.

“Grass seedings are ideally done in mid-April but conditions didn’t permit that,” he said. “At this point, some are considering if seeding for grasses is worth it. The conventional wisdom is that it has to be done before mid-May, but if it stays cool, it won’t be a problem.

“If it gets too hot before the grass is established, certain weeds will grow faster and make it harder for cool-season grasses for hay like timothy and fescue to get established. They will grow fine when the soil gets warm, but weeds become a factor.

Those planting a corn crop are also having to decide if they should wait a little longer and put in a shorter-season corn if they don’t get a regular-season crop planted soon.

“Typically we don’t suggest the short-season varieties until the end of May. If they get their seed in the ground in the next week they should be okay. After that, it might be the time to think about shorter-season varieties.”

Meanwhile, Canner said, corn prices on commodity markets might be enticing some farmers to aim more for a crop to sell than to feed to their animals.

“I’m no expert at predicting, but you can learn a lot by looking at futures prices. It’s not necessarily an accurate prediction of future prices, but it is the market’s best guess – some smart people’s and not-so-smart people’s best guess.

“If you think the futures market is wrong – biased in one way or another – that might be your opportunity to make some money. But don’t be too hopeful, and cross your fingers.

“Commodity prices have gone higher but have not continued their rise over the last couple of months. The prices are still reasonably favorable for corn growers.

“This could be exciting for some. Given the high grain and fuel prices, it might be a good time for farmers to optimize pastures and grazing,” and save the grain they grow for the market.

“That could work for relatively small farmers without fields all over creation,” Canner said. “If you’ve got high quality forage, you can cut down on graining and fuel costs, if you do it right.”

And if a farmer has some time on July 26, a trip to Cooperative Extension in Canton might be worth it, Canner suggested.

The dairy cooperative Dairylea is sponsoring a series of pasture walks and workshops.

“They’ll have some good dairy pasture management tips. You can really make it work for you.”

If you have questions, Canner can be reached at 379-9192.