Newswise — Data released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration painted a grim picture for farmers in New York and throughout the United States – 80 percent of the U.S. is abnormally dry and 55 percent of the continental U.S. is in moderate or extreme drought. Almost everywhere, fruit, crop, livestock and dairy farmers are being choked by the driest growing season since 1956.
A number of researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University – New York’s Land Grant institution – are available to talk with the media about the near- and long-term impacts of the Drought of 2012.
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Hans Walter-Peterson is a viticulture extension specialist and team leader for the Finger Lakes Grape Program. He says:
“Nature has thrown farmers a few curve balls in the 2012 growing season already, between early warmth leading to frost damage in many fruit crops, and now a fairly prolonged period of hot temperatures combined with dry conditions.
“Fortunately for grape growers in the Finger Lakes, the conditions have not had a significant overall impact to the industry so far. Yields look like they will be quite variable this year depending on variety and location of the vineyard, but most growers will not be experiencing a significant hit to their crop from early frost damage compared to some other growing regions like the Lake Erie grape belt. The dry conditions are starting to impact a few vineyards that have shallow soils, which hold less water than deeper ones, but we aren't seeing drought impacts across the industry to this point. The dry weather has also helped keep disease development under control, which has helped growers to apply fewer chemical controls to their vineyards to this point. “Dry weather before the fruit starts to ripen is somewhat less of a concern, up until the point where vines begin to lose their leaves and the fruit starts to collapse, which we saw in some vineyards last year under similar conditions to now. Adequate rainfall is more critical after veraison, when the fruit starts to soften and sugars and other compounds begin to load into the fruit. If we have significant water stress at that point in the season, it could have an impact on ripening in September and October.” . . . . .
Thomas Overton, a professor of animal science, is an expert on the operation of dairy farms and the dairy industry. He says:
“The extended heat and drought conditions are having great impact on dairy farms. The biggest impact will be on the yield of crops used to feed dairy cows. Unless we get some good rain soon, the yield and quality will be down. The quality and quantity of forages, both silages and hay, directly affects the quantity of milk produced and also require farms to rely more on purchased feeds, which increases their cost of production – which is already high. While these troubles won’t be passed on directly to the consumer, it will affect farmers’ bottom lines, many of whom are already experiencing problems due to last year’s poor crop yield. “Hot weather, in general, has a detrimental impact on cows from a health and milk production standpoint. Heat stress causes cows to produce less milk, in addition to other problems with health and reproduction.
“We continue to encourage farms to implement cow-cooling strategies to help prevent heat stress during hot weather.”
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William Cox is a professor of crop and soil sciences, and an extension researcher who focuses his work on agriculture in New York. He says:
“We were very warm and dry until April 20. Some corn was planted April 15 through 20, in fact, more so than usual. Then on April 22 we got 2 inches of precipitation, most of it in the form of 6 to 8 inches of snow. The cold didn’t harm the crop, but the excessive moisture did, and corn in the poorly drained areas drowned out.
“That being said, about 90 percent of that planting made it. We ended up being wet until Mother’s Day, so most of the remaining corn crop was planted from May 13 to 25. “The corn that was planted in April is now nearing tassling and silking, making it very vulnerable to the current hot and drought conditions. If we don’t get rain soon, we may see a yield reduction of 30 to 40 percent on the April-planted corn. The May-planted crop has been affected somewhat, but not as significantly and still has time to yield above average. But the crop needs a couple of inches of rain in the next 10 days or so. The crop is not a loss yet. It’s hurting, but it’s not over ‘til it’s over. It’s the seventh inning and we’re down 6-2, but last year we were down 10-2 at this time but managed to come out on top. “Soybean, on the other hand, is not vulnerable to heat and drought stress until August. It can tolerate all kinds of abuse in June and most of July as the important month for Soy is August because that is when it is setting and filling its pods. We could still have a record soybean crop with timely rains from late July through August, despite current conditions. “Also, the hot dry weather was great for wheat harvest. The quality this year is outstanding, making high quality grain and straw.”
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Marvin Pritts, a professor of horticulture, is an expert and outreach educator on berry crops. He says:
“Most berry crops, except for strawberries, survived winter and spring conditions extremely well. The potential crop of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries should be the best in years.
“However, drought conditions and intense heat can reduce fruit size significantly, so growers will need to be diligent about irrigating their crops this year.”
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Art Degaetano is a climatologist, a professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and director of the Cornell-based NOAA Northeast Regional Climate Center. He says:
“While farmers may feel they are getting the double whammy with a very warm winter and spring punctuated by April freezes, there is little connection between the two as there is little relationship between conditions from one month to the next.
“Nonetheless, this month's weather pattern, hot and dry, doesn't appear to want to change for at least the next two weeks. More hot and dry weather will only make conditions worse for agricultural interests.”
NOTE: More information about agriculture and drought conditions in New York can be found at http://emergencypreparedness.cce.cornell.edu/disasters/Pages/Drought.aspx.
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