By Leslie Cholowsky, Editor
With Beaver County to the north on the verge of declaring an agricultural emergency due to significant June rainfall, Flagstaff County Ag. Fieldman Nick Dunn says he’s been monitoring the situation. “I certainly feel for those communities,” he says, adding, “It has been quite a shift from the dry conditions experienced in recent years.”
Dunn says Flagstaff County has also received significant rainfall. “Talking to some producers and we have received between 12 to 18 inches of rain depending on where you’re at in the County,” well over annual averages.
Dunn says from an agricultural perspective, impacts have been quite variable across the county.
“The topography around the Daysland area has contributed to localized water accumulation, and there is still standing water in some drainage ditches near Daysland.
“We are also seeing some crops showing signs of excess moisture stress, along with localized hail damage from last week’s storm,” he adds.
“Spraying has also been a challenge this season, as producers have had to work around frequent rainfall events while waiting for fields to dry sufficiently to support equipment.
“With the warmer temperatures this week, many crops have progressed rapidly and are moving into the flowering stage.
“Overall crop development has improved in areas where fields have been able to drain, and there are also many crops across the county that are looking very good.”
Dunn says, “We will continue to monitor conditions as the growing season progresses.”
He notes, “Based on some weather analyses, this has the potential to be one of the wettest years on record, with some datasets extending back to approximately 1912.”
