More than fourteen inches of rain this spring has prevented farmers from using heavy machinery. This means they are behind on planting crops and behind on harvesting hay.
For Dan Palladino of Palladino & Carley Farms, LLC, the rain has prevented them from planting 500 acres of soybeans. Normally, all of this would have been finished by now, he said.
Palladino was two weeks behind in production for most of spring due to the wet conditions. And with even more rain towards the end of May, they lost another week of no production.
«I was not able to plant soybeans because it was too wet. This was the first time ever,» Palladino said.
As a result, employees were unable to work when it was raining. That means when weather was nice, they would have to work longer hours. For the past few dry days, Palladino’s employees have been working around twelve hours a day.
While having the acres located on rolling hills helped the water drain, there is a significant wet spot that covers around three acres. This is a much larger size than usual, Palladino said.
The wet soil makes it challenging for Palladino to cut hay. The next step involves tedding, which allows the air and sun to dry the hay. After tedding, the hay is raked up and baled. This process requires a lot of dry weather in order for hay to be managed correctly. It also requires the ground to be dry enough so the tractor does not get stuck.
Cutting hay is how Palladino feeds the livestock. However, there was no way to access the hay, let alone cut it. This meant they had to be in hay from somewhere else for the livestock.
Tractor pulling Skid Steer Loader at Palladino Farm
When hay gets too high, it loses some nutrient value, said Mark James, Membership and Leadership Development Specialist at New York Farm Bureau.
«You want to cut the grass and alfalfa in order for it to have the highest nutrient value for cows and livestock. Because of the rain, the farmers haven’t been able to do that. It is crucial to get it in time,» James said.
James has heard from farmers in Cortland and Onondaga counties about how behind they are with their crops. Being unable to use the tractors while the field is wet, farmers have been limited this spring.
«This past weekend there was a window of dry weather. We literally had farmers planting crops, harvesting hay around the clock. Twenty-four hours a day over a couple days,» said James.
Palladino and his employees were one of those farms doing this. «We were mowing hay morning, noon and night,» Palladino said. This becomes difficult as it has a high demand on employees basing their work schedule on the weather.
Another farmer, Paul Fouts, was able to get the first cut done despite the heavy rain. However, planting was between 10 to 14 day later than usual.
«Our farm was lucky in that we got our planting and first cutting done at a respectable time,» Fouts said.
Fouts, whose farm is in Cortland County, is a regional director with the state Farm Bureau. He said other farmers are in the same boat — having to work extra hours to plant and harvest.
«There were many farmers working literally around the clock getting as much done as possible before the rain started again on Sunday. Everyone was exhausted and many neighbors were upset by the activity,» Fouts said.
If the weather improves over the upcoming days and weeks, Palladino will be working hard to catch up on production. And hopefully for him and farmers around Central New York, the rain will stay away for summer.
Source: syracuse.com
Link: http://www.syracuse.com/living/index.ssf/2017/06/wet_weather_bad_for_upstate_new_york_dairy_farmers.html