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News
April 13, 2007
For Immediate Release
Kentucky Wheat Growers Will See
Severe to Total Crop Loss from Freeze
Association Working to Seek Disaster Assistance and Provide
Growers Decision-Making Tools
Several days
of below freezing temperatures following unseasonably warm
weather may have been the recipe for the worst weather-related
Kentucky wheat crop damage in the past twenty years. Crop
experts believe 50 to 70 percent of the state’s wheat may be
lost, which could translate to a $45 million reduction in farm
receipts.
In response,
the Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association (KySGGA) is
working with industry experts to provide financial assistance
for severe yield loss as well as resources to help farmers
decide how to best manage the situation.
Kentucky
Commissioner of Agriculture Richie Farmer issued a letter this
week asking Governor Ernie Fletcher to declare an agricultural
disaster for Kentucky, a critical first step in seeking aid
for producers.
“We commend
Commissioner Richie Farmer’s quick response,” said KySGGA
Promotion Council chairman Don Halcomb, who is a farmer in
Logan County. “We now need to gather data from our wheat
production experts and assess how much damage and financial
loss has occurred to encourage aid from our legislators.”
Halcomb added
that he believed this will become the most severe wheat loss
the state has endured since the incorporation of the
organization.
Crop
specialists from the University of Kentucky (UK), Wheat Tech
and Miles Opti-Crop have been scouting fields across the state
to determine the extent of the damage and all agree that the
damage potential may not be completely realized until next
week.
University of
Kentucky extension crop specialists Jim Herbek and Lloyd
Murdock said it can be difficult to get a definitive
assessment of plant damage immediately after a freeze has
occurred. Waiting five to seven days after warmer temperatures
have returned and allowing growth to resume allows for a more
definitive, visible damage assessment.
Scott Jones,
a crop consultant with Wheat Tech, Inc. in Russellville, said
the best potential for recovery is later planted wheat.
“Anything that was at Feeke’s stage
8 or higher is dead,” said Jones. “Wheat at stage 7 may have a
50/50 chance depending on the variety and the location, and
plants with small tillers may be okay.”
Jones recommends that producers have
a crop consultant, extension agent or seed representative
scout the fields with them in order to help them make a more
emotion-free decision about their crop.
“Growers
should not rush their decisions,” commented Jones.
He said time
should be given to consider your options as there are many
economic and weather-related challenges with destroying a crop
and replanting another.
Ronan
Cummins, with Miles Opti-Crop, in Owensboro, said he has
already seen producers give up on their wheat crops and start
to plant corn. This is an option many farmers may turn to in
the wake of higher corn prices.
Dottie Call,
administrator for UK’s Wheat Science Group in Princeton, said
many have asked about hay quality of freeze-damaged wheat
which has prompted the group to investigate nutrient content
for future reference and recommendations.
UK extension
crop specialist Chad Lee said producers should check with
their crop insurance agents before they do anything. However,
the reality is that many producers do not carry insurance on
their wheat crops.
“Anyone not
carrying insurance should go to their local Farm Service
Agency office and file a damage report.”
Lee said
wheat will be part of disaster assistance in the case that
Congress approves supplemental funding for the disaster.
Halcomb said
KySGGA will dedicate their efforts to see that this happens.
Farmers
wanting to find a comprehensive source of freeze damage
reports and crop recommendations should visit the KySGGA web
site at
www.kysmallgrains.org.
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Written by
Jennifer Elwell, KySGGA – (502) 921-2625 or
info@kysmallgrains.org.
Contact: Don
Halcomb – (270) 726-7768
Kentucky Pest News:
Crisis Exemption for Using Wheat as a Forage Crop
James Martin, J. D. Green, and James
Herbek
The Division of
Environmental Services in the Kentucky Department of
Agriculture has approved a Crisis Exemption for the use of
wheat that had been treated with Harmony or Express herbicide
as a forage feed for livestock. Current Federal label
restrictions for Harmony Extra, Harmony GT, and Express
prohibit grazing or feeding forage or hay; however, the
special exemption will allow Kentucky growers to use the wheat
for grazing, hay, or haylage.
The need for this
exemption developed as a result of the freezing temperatures
in early April that severely injured wheat and limited the use
of the crop for grain. In addition to the damage to wheat,
the freezing temperatures also limited the amount of forage
available for first cutting in hayfields and grazing. This
left many livestock producers searching for an alternative
feed stuff for their animals. The crisis exemption will help
utilize the damaged wheat and alleviate some of the shortage
in forage.
Ernest Collins, Technical Branch Manager,
coordinated the development of the Crisis Exemption. He
indicated the approved period for the exemption in Kentucky
will be May 7 through May 22 of this season
In the News:
Resources:
Photo provided by Needham Ag
Technologies, LLC
More information
will be provided when it becomes available.
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