Jan. 7—One silver lining to the wallop of winter weather parts of Missouri and northeast Kansas had recently is the impact on area farmers.
Drought conditions across the northwest region of Missouri are continuing to improve with the help of rainfall throughout the year and now, a winter storm which recently came through, however, it was still a year that saw much dryness.
“We finished the year with an average rainfall just a little above normal; three or four inches,” said Tim Gach, a Buchanan County farmer. “But most farmers will tell you that it’s not about the average, it’s when you get that rain and we had a really huge harvest window this year. We had probably a month and a half, about six weeks of, really dry weather, which was good for harvest but in the meantime, it wasn’t doing things like replenishing pasture or settling ponds and giving soil moisture.”
While many individuals spent days digging themselves out of the snow from the recent winter storm, farmers said it’s a welcome sight, helping to replenish the soil moisture.
“We’ve got snow on the ground, about 12 inches or better depending on where you’re at,” Gach said. “What that will do is, most of that snow will soak into the ground, which is good for subsoil moisture going into the spring. The stuff that does melt and runoff that’s going to go into streams is going to fill up ponds and be very beneficial for if you have livestock that rely on a pond for a water source.”
For livestock farmers, having to work outside daily, caring for cattle in the cold doesn’t take too much work as they claim cold tolerance and are able to manage outside even under extreme temperatures, according to Gach.
However, Gach explained, it is important farmers continue to make sure cattle receive the proper care in extreme weather.
“With snow on the ground, you’ve got to make sure your waters aren’t frozen, those cattle have got a place to be in out of the wind and really bitter cold, or putdown something for them to lay on and keep them well-fed because livestock burn a lot of energy this time of year,” Gach said.
Many Missourians may be tired of the snow but Gach said farmers are eager for more.
“I’m sure this isn’t the end of the precipitation until planning time,” Gach said. “There will be some more and that will tell a big story as to how the year is going to unfold for farmers. Generally speaking, we like to see some moisture over the winter.”
Jenna Wilson can be reached at jenna.wilson@newspressnow.com.