AWlancastar Farming, Saturday, Saptambar 9, IMS
Drought Watches , Warnings Have Farmers Concerned
(Continued from Pag* A 1)
state, normal yields of 120-13.0
bushels per acre may fall from a
third to a half to perhaps 7S bushels
per acre or less because of the dry
weather, according to Greg Roth,
associate professor of agronomy at
Penn State. The Penn State com
specialist said late planted com
will be most severely affected, and
farmers should be concerned.
Roth said that some farmers are
harvesting com for silage too late
when the com is far too dry. He
said he has heard of “silo fires
occurring because com was too
dry” in Lebanon and Lancaster
counties as a result of not enough
moisture to ensile properly.
While Lancaster and southeast
ern counties have nearly com
pleted com silage harvest because
of the dry weather, northern coun
ties are just beginning their
harvest.
“The best thing to do is to per
form a moisture test on the crop,”
said Roth.
Rather than using common
methods of observing and getting a
feel for when the crop may be
ready, it’s best for farmers to con
duct the test. Chopped silage is
placed on a paper plate, placed in a
microwave, and dried to the point
where the weight stabilizes. A
measurement is taken from start to
finish weight to determine mois
ture content.
Another way to test for moisture
is to use a Koster-like tester, a
countertop unit that is essentially
“a hairdryer with a basket,” said
Mark Madden, agronomy agent in
Bradford County.
This week, Madden said that he
conducted a moisture lest at a dairy
farm in Montrose. Susquehanna
County. In Bradford and Susque
hanna counties, com silage harvest
is two weeks ahead of schedule.
In a dry year, said the agronomy
agent, “normal rules of thumb
should be put aside.” Farmers need
to be “out there, getting that mois
ture test,” he said.
Although some parts received
rain from a storm that passed
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through about the third week in
August, total rainfall for much of
the area is less than a half inch.
According to the River Fore
casting Center, Bradford County
averaged only 1.3 inches of preci
pitation, 1.8 inches below normal
for the month.
Madden said it is important for
the farmer “to be in the fields and,
using the moisture test, evaluate
the moisture of the crop, not rely
on feel or looking at it”
Joel Hunter, agronomy agent for
Crawford and Erie counties, said
the county also has been drought
stressed, recording only a half inch
of rain for some spots in August.
Hunter said a typical August
brings about 354 inches of rain.
According to the River Forecast
ing Center, only 2.5 inches of rain
fell for the county on average,
down about 1.7 inches for the
month.
Many agronomy agents agreed
that totals were spotty and that
some areas received welcome
relief from timely thunderstorms ,
and others did not
Harvest said Hunter, is “rolling ;
now. and everything is that far
accelerated” because of the con
tinued hot dry weather. Hunter
said his office has received calls
from producers who are worried
about the mixed quality going into
the harvest where several fields,
especially those that are deep and ,
hold water, arc greener than shal
low planted fields.
But the biggest concern for
Crawford and Erie counties has
been the concern about forest fires.
Woodlot owners have to carefully
watch for signs of possible forest
fire outbreaks. Hunter said that
forestry department personnel N
have been regularly inspecting
wooded areas.
Com growth depends on grow
ing degree days (GDDs), which
have accelerated because of the hot
weather. Growers should keep a
watch on the milk line and do
moisture checks before harvest
Some com has literally died on
the stalk, according to Roth, and
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will dry down fast, especially on
shallower soils. The grain will still
provide good feed value, but
harvest time is critical.
Also, a big concern is the test
weight A good test weight per
bushel of com is 54-56 pounds, but
in a dry year, kernel size and mass
will shrink. Some will test at 50
pounds or less, depending on
location.
Roth said that many farmers
believe this is the driest August
they’ve seen in 30 years. Mel
Brown, Centre county agronomy
agent said that while the summer
of *9l was droughty, rain fell in
August that year to revive crops in
the fall.
According to River Forecast
Center records. Centre County
received only 0.7 inch of rain on
average in August down 2.7
inches from normal for the month.
Especially hard hit are some
alfalfa fields, which produced
enough for three cuttings this year.
“For many, there won’t be a fourth
cutting,” said Brown.
Also, a big concern is the lack of
an adequate supply of water for
livestock. Brown said that in
Rebersburg, Centre County, a far
mer was concerned that his spring
was drying up and was looking
into finding another water supply
for his cattle.
Many creeks have dried up to
the point of being useless as a
supply. Also, concern about shal
low wells has risen—though most
counties so far have reported few
problems with water supplies from
deeply drilled wells.
A challenge livestock producers
face, according to Brown, is the
hot weather, which increases water
usage for livestock. On Thursday,
a cold front was scheduled to bring
scattered but possibly heavy rain
fall to many locations in the state,
bringing cooler weather by Satur
day. Brown said that cooler weath
er would reduce water usage by
livestock.
Soybean crops have also been
hard hit by the dry weather, espe
cially those planted late following
barley or wheat, according to Walt
Wurster, agronomy agent for
Chester County. The county is also
under a drought warning, less
severe than the drought emergency
declared for many counties in the
summer of 1991.
For many soybean growers that
planted early, running the com
bines through “will be enough to
pay the cost of harvesting,” said
Wurster. The beans will be small
er, which means adjustments are
needed before harvesting.
In a normal year, 60 bushels of
soybeans or more are possible in
some Chester County fields. How
ever, this year, there could be a 50
percent reduction in yields to about
40 bushels or less. Depending on
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the condition of the crop, late
beans may not "yield anything”
and would have to be plowed
down, according to Wurster.
Some farmers have had to drill
new wells in the county, but Wur
ster has had few calls regarding
residential use worries.
Are there any positive aspects to
this drought?
It proves you cannot harvest by
calendar or guesswork. But for
those who want to do some fall til
lage, conditions are ripe, and the
ground could be worked with a
chisel as dry as it is, according to
Joel Hunter, Crawford County
agent.
Also, some foil grains could get
planted and would do well if time
ly rains would arrive mid-month.
Another positive side is that the
price of corn could rise as a result,
perhaps to $3 a bushel, depending
on overall harvest, according to
Walt Wurster, Chester County
agent.
Mel Brown, Centre County
agent, said that he spoke with his
87 year-old father the past
weekend. He said that there was a
saying, that if you get little mois
ture in summertime, there won’t be
much in the wintertime, either.
But for now, farmers need to be
out in the fields, monitoring grain
and silage moisture to see when
they should harvest their crops,
according to Roth.
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