The effects of Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s freezing temperatures on Arkansas’ farms will be minimal, say extension agronomists and agents for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
The National Weather Service had freeze warnings in effect until Wednesday morning in Arkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Chicot, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway, Crawford, Crittenden, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lee, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Newton, Ouachita, Perry, Philips, Pike, Polk, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren, Washington, White, Woodruff and Yell counties.
The state’s winter wheat crop was in its early stages with 66 percent planted and 38 percent emerged during the week ended Nov. 3. The crop report for the week ended Nov. 10 was due out Tuesday afternoon, delayed from its usual Monday release by the Veterans Day holiday.
“Cold temperatures over the next few nights will not cause damage to wheat, but will likely slow growth down,” said Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist for the UA’s Division of Agriculture. “Depending on the size of your wheat, this could be good or bad. Wheat just planted or emerging will need some warm weather to get the growth and tillering needed for maximum yield potential.”
Arkansas’ small acreage of oats was somewhat in the same boat, said Brent Griffin, Prairie County Extension staff chair.
“We have some concern with an early planted oat crop that has grown off very well,” he said. “The oats are trying to early joint -- go reproductive -- and the cold weather will freeze and kill those tillers, but the plants should recover.”
Arkansas rice fields were 96 percent harvested for the week ended Nov. 3, and the time has come for fields to make way for new tenants.
“A few extremely late rice fields will have met their end now,” Hardke said. “Beyond that, most of the rice crop is out. Time to flood them for hunting season as ducks and gees have already begun moving into the state.:
For cotton farmers, “the freeze will probably prevent any bolls that haven't already opened from doing so,” said Blake McClelland, cotton research verification coordinator “This will mainly affect any fields that were planted very late -- around June. However, with the bulk of the state's crop harvested the affect will be minimal.”
Cotton was 75 percent harvested for the week ending Nov. 3, up from 54 percent the previous week.
Farmers are just hoping the weather stays dry so they can finish harvesting all crops.
“As for soybean, we should be over 80 percent harvested,” Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist said Tuesday.
“These freezing conditions will finish off any plants that still have any green leaves hanging onto the plant,” he said. “Hopefully, it will stay dry where producers can get the remaining soybean crop out without too much damage to fields.”
Griffin said “livestock farmers are supplementing fall pasture with hay and some high protein rations to get through this brief cold snap.” He added that “folks better check antifreeze in vehicles to prevent damage.”
Source : uaex.edu