After delay, area planting begins

Winter postponed spring planting by about three weeks

By DD BIXBY
H&N Staff Writer

May 2, 2008

   Planting of spring crops has been delayed by about three weeks this year by a hard winter. 

   But fields are dry enough for equipment now so there’s a flurry of disking, tilling and general field preparation as producers try to catch up. In the Tulelake area, onion planting is finishing up, and cereal grains and alfalfa hay are on the task list now. 

   Malin farmer Bill Walker said his crews finished planting the first crop of wheat and were working on replanting what had been blown away or frozen by inclement spring weather. 

   Kl  amath County farmer Mike Noonan said alfalfa fields were being prepped and spring grain planting was well under way. Even with 1,000 acres of barley and wheat already planted, he said, he was just starting his planting season, which he expected to wrap up near the end of May. 

   Brian Charlton, Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center row crop and horticulture agent, estimated about 25 percent of the spring cereal crops have been planted, and some potato fields were starting to see activity. Cutting seed has been going on for the last few weeks, and Charlton said the bulk of potato planting will happen in the next three weeks. 

   Noonan said he was hoping for the weather to transition into spring so the ground temperatures could warm up. With nighttime temperatures falling to 18 degrees, the chill is one of his biggest concerns. 

   Yield risks 

   Rich Roseburg, agronomist at the Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center , said there also are potential yield risks with the late start to the season. 

   The Klamath Basin typically has a shorter growing season than other areas, so pushing planting and spring growth curtails the season even more and may shove harvest times on the heels of next winter. 

   However, Roseburg said, the flip side is that irrigation needs also are pushed back, which could help with costs — another concern for local agriculture.

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