Heavy rains delay hay harvesting for some farmers

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

July 1, 2008

Wet weather good for plants but bad for bales

and DENISE A. RAYMO The Press Republican Tue Jul 01, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

CHATEAUGAY -- June's wet weather might dampen the hopes of some North Country farmers planning multiple harvests from their hay fields this season.

Average rainfall last month in the Tupper Lake area was 5.25 inches, while Newcomb measured an average of 4.18 inches and Malone 4.96 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Burlington.

Arnold Lobdell of Chateaugay said that even with that much rainfall, farmers putting up silage or chopped hay to sell on the horse-feed market are right on target for their harvest.

BALING CONCERNS

But farmers who bale their hay that are behind schedule by about two weeks because of the lack of consistent dry days needed to remove the extra moisture from the standing fields.

"We need about 48 hours of continuous rain-free weather before we can get our first cut of dry hay," Lobdell said.

First cut usually occurs in mid-June, and the second crop is then planted.

A third and sometimes even a fourth crop can be harvested before the growing season ends, Lobdell said.

"But if you're not getting at least 48 hours of dry weather, you can't get the first cut done, and it prevents the second crop from coming up."

HAY QUALITY

The quality of the hay is also impacted the longer it remains in the field.

First-cut hay, which is preferred by horse owners because it's greener, moister and less dusty than later yields, is a cash crop for farmers.

But second-cut hay and subsequent hay crops have a higher nutrition value, which farmers store away for their cattle for winter.

The higher the protein content, the less commercially produced material the farmer has to add to the feed, which can save a significant amount of money, Lobdell said.

At the same time, lesser quality hay left standing too long has lower protein and requires more subsidizing to maintain the delicate nutritional balance that dairy cattle need, he said.

Weather across the region is expected to be warm and dry toward the end of the week, Lobdell said, which may get farmers back on track if they can find enough workers to help get the crop in.

CHALLENGING

Rouses Point farmer Henry Gooley said he is disappointed in the crop so far at his Hayford Road property.

"We haven't had much of a season to do haying," he said. "You can't have the hay that wet."

The longer farmers have to wait to cut, he said, the poorer the hay quality. That, in turn, causes the milk produced by the cows that eat the hay to also be of lesser quality.

Gooley hopes the excessive rain will decrease.

"We don't have much control of the weather, but we'll get through it."

"It's definitely been challenging," said Simon Conroy, owner of Conroy's Organics farm in West Chazy.

"In the short run, we're alright because we have some hay from earlier in the season. But in the long run, we're going to need to get the hay before it gets too old and loses its high protein content."

PRODUCE MIXED

On the positive side, the produce at Conroy's farm has benefited from the wet weather.

"The plants are flourishing with all the water," he said.

Produce growers are also feeling the effects of heavy June rainfall.

Ralph Child, who plants about 260 acres of potatoes and 240 acres of leafy greens at Childstock Farm in Malone, said his crops are not maturing as fast as he'd like.

At one point earlier this month, 4½ inches of rain fell in a week.

"It's almost like two separate planting seasons," Child said. "We had our first planting, then there was a 10-day stretch when we got that bad weather where we couldn't do anything, then we did a second planting.

"But we didn't get the hot, dry temperatures we needed to go with it. The soil temperature stayed cool, and it was cloudy. The plants weren't germinating as well as I'd like, so that will have an impact on the maturity of the potatoes."

He said as long as the weather continues to warm up and rainfall returns to normal, his first crop should still be ready to harvest the first part of September.