With around seven decades of farming experience under his belt, James Howles said he’s worked though his share of dry planting seasons in Crawford County.
Last month, however, “was one of the driest I’ve seen,” the 74-year-old said Friday as he worked on hand-planting potatoes, peas and tomatoes at a portion of his roughly 50-acre farm in Venango Borough. “It’s (still) dry — even my wet ground’s dry,” he added.
The 2.27 inches of April rainfall recorded in the region were more than an inch below the normal amount of precipitation for the month, according to the National Weather Service at Cleveland.
But that doesn’t necessarily spell danger for this year’s crop outlook around the county.
“I don’t think it’s going to hurt us,” Howles said, as long as May rains continue.
Whether it does or not is a big deal. Crawford County’s fields put out nearly $12.5 million in crops in 2002, the last year for which federal statistics are available. The top three crops were forage for animals, corn and soybeans. The local agricultural economy is generated by 1,416 farms and more than 221,000 acres of Crawford County farmland, the 2002 statistics showed.
Down at Cochranton Cooperative Association Farmers Supply, Dick Taylor is among those seeing the bright side this spring. He said last month’s weather actually allowed many area farmers to get a jump on their plantings. “It made them get their crops in earlier, so they can get better crops,” he said.
And better crops, Taylor said, are crucial to the area after a too-wet season affected yields in 2006 and a too-dry season hurt farmers last year.
He said area farmers will need to have a near-perfect growing season this year to make up for those two poor years, which have coupled with increasing prices in fertilizer, seed and other farming products.
“If they don’t have a really good year, we’re going to have a major loss of agriculture (produce) in this area,” he said. “Two years ago, we had too much water. Last year, we didn’t have enough.”
Optimal conditions for the rest of May, Taylor said, would include a brief continuation of the relatively light amounts of rain seen so far this month, followed by a short dry spell and more rain near the end of the month.
Showers may continue around the region through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Ryan Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at rsmith@meadvilletribune.com
Did you know?
A warm, dry April marked the worst month for brush fires throughout Crawford County in recent years.
With a total of 95 brush fires reported, the county had almost 15 times the number of such fires last month compared to the same time in 2007 — a record for the last three years, according to the Crawford County Office of Emergency Services.
At an average temperature of 51.2 degrees Fahrenheit, April was the seventh warmest on record, officials said. A new one-day record for the month was set on April 19, when area temperatures rose to around 84 degrees, according to the National Weather Service at Cleveland.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Erratic spring weather cast doubt on crops
- Local News
-
-
Conneaut Lake Park roars into 120th season
Conneaut Lake Park’s 120th season is officially under way with its in-keeping-with-tradition, four-day Memorial Day weekend opening, and the “crowds are coming in,” Jack Moyers said Saturday.
-
Area communities ready to celebrate Memorial Day
Editor’s note: The following Memorial Day events have been reported for publication in The Tribune. All events are Monday, except those in Edinboro and Shermansville, which are planned for Sunday. -
Remembering Civil War Bucktails
A glimpse into daily life of the Civil War era is easy to see in Crawford County.
-
Area Memorial Day events
The following Memorial Day events have been reported for publication in The Tribune. All events are on Monday, except the one at Edinboro that is planned for Sunday.
-
Civil War soldiers highlight Meadville Memorial Day events
A courageous Meadville man — wounded three times but remaining on a Civil War battlefield until he was too weak to continue — is being remembered this Memorial Day as the Meadville Area Memorial Day Committee continues its mission of observing the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States.
-
Police: Locals admit to killing Ohio woman
Two Cochranton women were arrested and jailed on homicide charges early Thursday after allegedly admitting they killed an Ohio woman and buried her body in a shallow grave near their residence recently.
-
Reader 'Faces' are coming in
Mom's car dash, Meadville, PA
Lucy Kedzierski, 12, looks at the face every morning waiting for school bus!
She took this with a cell phone. -
North Street Project sure to be 'very disruptive'
With the preliminary traffic control plan for Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s North Street Project complete, Meadville City Manager Joe Chriest summed up the anticipated impact of the project, which is expected to span the entire 2013 construction season. “This is going to be very, very disruptive,” he said Wednesday.
-
Boat business booming in warm weather
It’s been a booming business in boats this spring, according to some area boat dealers.
-
City leaders not concerned after financial downgrade
During the past five years, Moody’s Investors Service has assigned three different ratings — all within the range of “upper medium grade” to the City of Meadville’s bonds. In 2007, the city was given a rating of A3, the lowest of the trio. In 2010, the city’s bond rating was raised to A1, the highest ranking in the “upper medium” category. Monday, Moody’s gave the city’s $10,000,000 General Obligation Bonds, Series of 2012, which went on the market Monday, the middle rating of A2.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
