- NOW TO THE SUBJECT EVERYONE'S BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS WEEK,
THE WEATHER.
AND AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE IMPACT ALL THIS SNOW MAY HAVE
ON STATE FARMERS WHO ARE NEARING PLANTING TIME.
A TIME WHICH IS FAST APPROACHING,
EVEN AS MANY FIELDS ARE CURRENTLY
UNDER A DEEP FROZEN BLANKET.
HEIDI JOHNSON IS THE CROPS AND SOILS EDUCATOR FOR UW-EXTENSION
IN DANE COUNTY.
HEIDI, THANKS FOR BEING HERE. - SURE.
- WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD FROM FARMERS
WHO HAVE PLANTING ON THEIR CALENDARS
BUT NOW ARE DEALING WITH SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW?
- THEY'RE EAGER TO GET GOING, BUT THAT'S PRETTY TYPICAL.
THEY ARE USED TO WEATHER.
THAT'S SOMETHING THEY DEAL WITH EVERY YEAR
FOR EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO DO.
SO THEY'RE PRETTY -- THEY USUALLY TAKE A PRETTY RELAXED
APPROACH TO IT.
SO LOTS OF PEOPLE IN THEIR SHEDS GETTING THEIR PLANTERS TUNED UP
AND MAKING SURE THEY HAVE EVERYTHING READY TO GO,
SO THEY'RE KEEPING BUSY.
- DOES IT PUT THEM BEHIND?
- NOT AT THIS POINT.
I MEAN WE TYPICALLY HAVE A LOT OF RAIN IN APRIL ANYWAYS AND
COLD SOILS.
OUR MAIN CROPS ARE REALLY WARM SEASON CROPS,
SO CORN AND SOYBEANS.
SO WE DON'T WANT THEM IN THE GROUND WHEN IT'S THIS COLD.
THE SOIL REALLY NEEDS TO WARM BEFORE THEY CAN GET PLANTED.
SO REALLY THE RESEARCH THAT WE HAVE FROM UW THAT'S BEEN DONE
OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS, PLANTING DATES HAVE CHANGED
OVER THAT TIME, OBVIOUSLY.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT YIELDS, WE REALLY WANT TO SEE FARMERS
GETTING IN THE FIRST WEEK OF MAY TO OPTIMIZE YIELDS.
- IS THERE IS UPSIDE TO THE MOISTURE THAT WILL COME
FROM THIS SNOWPACK?
- WELL, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE MOISTURE
AND WE WANT TO HAVE THE SUBSOIL REALLY RECHARGED WITH MOISTURE
SO THAT IS A GOOD THING.
I MEAN IF IT ISN'T SNOW, IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN RAIN.
SO I'M NOT SURE IT'S A HUGE --
I THINK THEY'D RATHER SEE IT IN THE LIQUID FORM THAN THE FROZEN.
[LAUGHTS]
- AS YOU SAY, PRODUCERS ARE ALWAYS KIND OF
AT THE WHIM OF WEATHER.
BUT HOW MUCH CAN THEY WEATHER ECONOMICALLY,
WHAT WITH THE COLLAPSE IN MILK PRICES AND COMMODITY PRICES?
- WELL, THAT IS A CONCERN THIS YEAR.
WE DO NEED A FULL SEASON FOR CORN AND SOYBEANS TO GROW.
AND SO WHEN WE START TO EAT AWAY AT PLANTING,
THEN WE ARE LOSING TIME.
AND THEN THAT GIVES THE POSSIBILITY OF THE CROP NOT
FINISHING ALL THE WAY, WHICH CAN INCREASE DRYING EXPENSES OR IT
CAN REDUCE YIELD IF WE CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT PLANTING DATE BACK.
SO WE DO WANT TO SEE THAT HAPPEN SO THAT THEY CAN GET GOOD YIELD.
AND IT'S MOST IMPORTANT THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU SAID,
WHICH IS THESE CHALLENGING PRICES.
RIGHT NOW BOTH CROPS AND MILK ARE -- THE PRICE THAT FARMERS
ARE RECEIVING IS PRETTY MUCH
LESS THAN WHAT THEY CAN MAKE IT FOR.
- YEAH.
SO I'VE SEEN IT DESCRIBED AS A DAIRY CRISIS.
IS THAT TOO STRONG?
- WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF FARMS GO BANKRUPT RIGHT NOW.
AND A LOT OF FARMS SELLING COWS AND GOING -- YOU KNOW,
GOING INTO JUST CROP PRODUCTION BECAUSE THEY CAN'T KEEP GOING
WITH THE DAIRY PRODUCTION.
SO IT IS GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE
IT'S PRETTY TOUGH OUT THERE.
THIS IS-- WE'VE HAD EXTENDED LOW PRICES FOR DAIRY,
SO THAT'S THE PROBLEM AT THIS POINT.
FARMERS CAN WEATHER IT FOR A LITTLE WHILE,
BUT THEN IT GETS TO THE POINT WHERE THEY CAN'T KEEP MAKING
LESS THAN THEY'RE GETTING FOR THE PRODUCT --
OR KEEP MAKING IT FOR LESS THAN THEY GET IT FOR.
- FARMERS THAT YOU'VE INTERACTED WITH,
WHAT DO THEY WANT TO SEE DONE ABOUT THIS?
- TO SEE DONE ABOUT THE PRICES?
I THINK THEY'D JUST LIKE BETTER PRICES.
- RIGHT.
- THAT REALLY IS THE BOTTOM LINE.
THAT THEY NEED A PRICE THAT'S MORE THAN WHAT THEY CAN MAKE IT
FOR SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE MONEY ON IT.
FARMING IS A DIFFERENT INDUSTRY THAN A LOT OF INDUSTRIES,
WHERE IT'S REALLY GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD THAT FARM.
AND SO WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE FARMING,
IT'S NOT LIKE LEAVING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF JOB.
IT'S A VERY EMOTIONAL THING BECAUSE YOU'RE LOSING SOMETHING
THAT'S BEEN IN YOUR FAMILY FOR A LONG TIME.
- AND YOU'VE SEEN THAT THIS YEAR?
- WE'RE SEEING COWS, GOING, YES, FOR SURE.
A LOT OF TIMES IF IT'S A DAIRY FARM,
THEY STILL HAVE ACREAGE THAT THEY'VE BEEN USING
TO PRODUCE FORAGE CROPS.
AND IF THEY SELL THE COWS, THEN THEY'LL JUST SWITCH TO PRODUCING
GRAIN CROPS, WHICH ISN'T A MUCH BETTER DEAL FOR THEM RIGHT NOW,
BUT THAT'S OFTEN WHAT WE SEE IS THAT SWITCH-OVER.
SO IT IS TOUGH AND THERE ARE FARMS RIGHT AROUND DANE COUNTY
THAT HAVE ALREADY HAD TO SELL THEIR COWS
THIS YEAR BASED ON THE PRICES.
AND WE KNOW WISCONSIN IS LEADING IN FARM BANKRUPTCIES.
SO IT REALLY IS A TOUGH TIME.
- IN TERMS OF BACK TO THE WHIMS OF WEATHER, JUST AHEAD AND,
YOU KNOW, STARTING TODAY, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE
KIND OF SUNNY AND WARM. - RIGHT.
- SO DOES THAT PUT FARMERS KIND OF BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK?
- YEAH.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY GOING TO HELP NOW THAT WE'VE GOT GOOD SUN
THAT'S COMING, TOO.
WE WANT TO SEE WARMER WEATHER.
WE WANT TO GET WARMER NIGHTS, TOO,
SO THAT THAT SOIL -- REALLY SOIL TEMPERATURE IS WHAT'S DRIVING
IT, SO WE WANT TO SEE THAT SOIL STARTING TO WARM UP.
IF WE HAVE FULL SUN AND THEN WARMER NIGHTS,
WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE QUICKER.
THEY'VE GOT THINGS TO DO BEFORE PLANTING LIKE TILLAGE OR PUTTING
MANURE OUT, SO THERE'S SOME ACTIVITIES THEY NEED TO GET DONE
PRIOR TO PLANTING SO WE NEED A DRY SPELL FOR THEM TO GET SOME
OF THAT STUFF DONE TOO.
- ALL RIGHT.
HEIDI JOHNSON, THANKS A LOT FOR JOINING US.