Frost damage to crops followed by 90-degree temps
These are what frosted beans plant look like. Iowa State Extension Service photo.
By KENT THOMPSON
Humboldt County farmers woke up to a rude awakening on Saturday morning, May 29.
The thermometer read 32 degrees and some temps may have dipped below that figure.
What resulted was frost burn to a number of plants, some severe enough on bean acres to require replanting.
“There have been some beans replanted,” Humboldt County Farm Service Agency Director David Waechter reported on Monday. “I know one farmer who had to replant 52 acres of an 80-acre field.”
What was unusual with this frost is that it wasn’t the low-lying areas of the field that were most impacted. “It was the first two-to-three or up the first five-to-seven rows, next to the grass in the ditch. It was worse the farther north you go,” Waechter said.
Attention is now shifting from record lows to unseasonably warm weather. Humboldt County is in a D0 (abnormally dry classification), but could quickly shift to a moderate drought or even a severe drought. Read more about this story and what local farmers are doing in this week's Humboldt Independent. Your trusted source for local news and sports.
