The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
"There was a blizzard in early May 1950," recalled my friend Melvin Schramm. "Nothing had been done in the fields when I arrived home on May 23 to help with planting." The Schramm farm was located near Cathay, N.D.
Schramm told me that there was so much water in the fields after the blizzard that the townships dug out around the road culverts to increase drainage. Bridge planks were put down so that vehicles could cross the newly formed gaps in the road.
"Of course, every vehicle was different," said Schramm. "When we came to a culvert that had been widened, we had to stop, get out and position the two planks so the space between them matched the wheel track of our vehicle."
I can only imagine the difficulties that Schramm and others faced as they tried to plant their crops in the spring of 1950.
Unfortunately, as I look at the deep snow covering our fields and pastures, it seems entirely possible that farmers and ranchers will experience similar challenges this planting season.
This winter the Carrington REC has received 102 inches of snow. That's roughly 60 inches above normal and 10 inches more than the second snowiest winter on record, which was in 2010-2011. (A foot or more of additional snow is forecast as I write this column on March 31.)
The current snowpack contains the equivalent of five inches of water which will be released onto our landscape as the snow melts.
A lot can change in six weeks, but it seems likely that farmers will be battling wet conditions throughout the planting season. That's been a recurring pattern in recent years.
Last year, Foster County received more than 10 inches of precipitation in April and May. Very little field work was done before mid-May. And three years ago, the spring of 2020, corn was still standing in some fields after rain and the early blizzard the preceding October.
It's not only crop farmers, but also ranchers, who are facing challenges this spring.
NDSU Extension range specialist Kevin Sedivec recently said that this year's cold and snow was likely to slow the greening of pastures.
May 15 is a target date when many ranchers hope to turn their animals out to grass. But Sedivec's opinion is that this year, pastures may not be ready to be grazed until the end of May.
Sedivec said, "If cows are turned out before pastures are ready, then total forage production during the year can be reduced by 25 to 50 percent."
Sedivec continued, "Every day of grazing too early in the spring may cost three days of grazing in the fall."
The good news is that warmer and drier weather will eventually come. There are bound to be struggles, but farmers will get into their fields and cows will go out to grass.
Melvin Schramm recalled that the tractor got stuck many times as they planted their crop in 1950. "But then the weather turned real nice," he said. "I recollect that the crop turned out okay."
