Preparing your Farm for Tropical Storm Fred

Aug 17, 2021

By Doug Mayo

The map above is most recent forecast track for Tropical Storm Fred from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Farmers and ranchers have limited time to prepare for what is coming on Sunday and Monday. At this point the forecast track (2 PM 8/13/21) is not very accurate, as this storm is still reorganizing after passing over the islands of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic/Haiti) and Cuba. The National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) cone of the probable path is still very large showing the track could go anywhere in the Panhandle at this point. As the storm moves along the Gulf Coast of Florida the forecasters will have a better feel for general speed and direction of this storm, so I would expect a much more accurate forecast to be shared on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. However, by the time we know more precisely where TS Fred is headed, there won’t be much time for preparation on the farm. You can see a continually updated version of this map by using the following link to the National Hurricane Center’s website for this storm:

Tropical Storm Fred Updates

preparing-your-farm-for-tropical-storm-fred

Source: National Hurricane Center (NHC)

Since this storm is expected to remain a Tropical Storm when it makes landfall in the Panhandle, one the key concerns is flooding from heavy rainfall in a short period of time. The map shown above shares estimated rainfall totals (2 PM Friday), but just like the probable path cone map, the estimated rainfall map will be updated as the storm track become more certain. On Friday afternoon, the NHC was expecting most of Florida to receive some rainfall from this storm as it passes through. This will likely change when they have a more precise forecast of exact location of landfall for the center of circulation. However, tropical storms are not tightly organized like hurricanes, so the rainfall from this storm can be far reaching from the center of circulation. At this point the NHC is expecting 2″- 4″ for the majority of the state of Florida, with higher totals in South Florida and in the Big Bend area from Panama City to Perry. This is likely to change with a more accurate forecast, so use the link provided above to see these rainfall forecast maps as they are updated throughout the weekend.

Preparing Your Farm for a Tropical Storm

Develop a plan and prepare ahead of the storm, rather than just waiting until after the storm to deal with the mess. Tropical Storm Fred is not expected to gain hurricane strength, but be prepared for isolated tornadoes, flash flooding, loss of power, and downed trees and large limbs. Likely the biggest impact from this particular storm will be heavy rainfall, but there could be other issues to deal with as well.

Flooding

Tropical storms can generate 3-15 inches of rainfall for inland areas in just a few hours.

Move tractors, equipment, hay, or other stored items to high ground.
Move animals out of low lying pastures, or at least tie gates open so they can move to higher ground if needed.
Make sure drainage ditches are clean without blockage.

Loss of Power

Heavy rainfall, flooded roots and periods of higher winds can make trees and limbs fall on power lines. Be prepared for power outages. In rural areas, power outages may not be addressed as quickly as in urban communities. Stock up ahead of the storm and make sure generators are ready to operate if needed.

Order fuel to top off farm fuel tanks for tractors and equipment. Fuel deliveries may be disrupted following the storm.
Fill farm and family vehicles with gas. Local gas stations may not be open after the storm passes.
Purchase batteries for flashlights and lanterns. Have enough working flashlights ready for each employee.
Move animals to pastures with ponds, so water troughs are not the only source of water. Have a generator ready for well operation, if ponds are not adequate.
Dairy farms should have enough generator power so that cows can be milked each day. Make sure it runs before you need it for an extended period.
For operations that rely on electric fencing, have a generator ready to keep the fence hot, or at least move animals to interior pastures, so they have multiple fences to help keep them in.

Tree Damage from Flooding and Wind

Coastal areas will receive the highest winds, but even 40-50 mile per hour winds for an extended period combined with heavy rainfall will cause damage from trees. Barns and fences are very susceptible to fallen trees and limbs from even tropical storm force winds. Tornadoes are also a concern within outer bands as storms move through.

Make sure chainsaws are in good working order and stock up on mixed fuel.
Locate chains and come-a-long for limb and tree movement off of fences and buildings.
Stock up on fence repair materials: wire, posts, and staples for repairing fences damaged by limbs and trees. Have some T-Posts on-hand for quick emergency repairs along highways.
Move animals and valuable equipment away from large trees and into open areas away from potential tree damage.
Pick up materials and debris that might become high-wind hazards.
Be prepared to remove and clean up broken limbs and uprooted trees on cowpens, fences and buildings following the storm.

Clean Up and Damage Assessment after the Storm Passes

Notification and documentation are the keys to getting financial aid following a tropical storm.

Beware of downed power lines. Treat them as if they are charged even if they are damaged or knocked down by tree limbs. If you drive up near a downed power line, stay in your vehicle, and contact emergency personnel or the utility company.
Contact insurance agencies as soon as possible after the storm passes for buildings, vehicles, and equipment that are insured.
Report major damage to the local Farm Service Agency within 15 days of the storm to be eligible for federal disaster aid. Take some photos that show major flooding and damage to crops and livestock or facilities.
Document damage and repair expenses. Photographs of damages and receipts for services and materials will be very important when applying for insurance claims and federal disaster aid. Any purchased feed, supplies, equipment, veterinary expenses, or extensive labor requirements related to storm damage should be recorded as well. Kalyn Waters, Holmes County Extension, developed some example spreadsheets for documenting storm damage and restoration expenses: Documentation for USDA-FSA Disaster Relief Programs.
Your county agent may also be contacting you after the storm for estimates of crop, livestock, and facility damages to report to report losses to the Florida Department of Agriculture and USDA. Have a general idea of the damages to each major enterprise so that accurate damage assessments can be shared with USDA.

Source : ufl.edu

Video: Can Gene Editing Give Seeds a Stronger Start?

Reagan Reed has a way of describing his research that might make a plant breeder pause.

“I’m the sort of person who likes to break things to understand them,” he says.

What he breaks are genes involved in seed germination. Reed, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Davis, is investigating whether changing those genes can help seeds establish healthy plants under a wider range of conditions.

Reed recently attended the National Association for Plant Breeding meeting in College Station, Texas, as an NAPB Borlaug Scholar. His work speaks to a question that matters well beyond a research lab: what does it take for a seed to get a crop off to a strong start?

A seed that germinates quickly, alongside the others planted with it, spends less time vulnerable to stresses before seedlings become established.

“If you’re able to bridge that gap between germination to stand establishment, then that’s going to give you the highest probability of having a solid yield that year,” Reed says. “There’s a bunch that can go wrong after that, but it maximises your yield from the start, at least.”

Reed works in Dr. Imtiyaz Khanday’s lab at UC Davis, where his research focuses on seed quality in tomatoes and potatoes. He brings an unusual academic background to the work: at Skidmore College, he studied both biology and Latin.

Reed believes that combination prepared him for research. Translating an ancient text means studying each word, weighing its possible meanings and using context to reach the best interpretation. There is rarely a way to know with complete certainty what an author intended. Science, he says, requires a similar willingness to work through uncertainty.

“Attention to detail and comfortability working with uncertainty,” is how he sums up what Latin taught him.

In the lab, uncertainty can produce a surprise. Reed describes changing one gene and seeing little effect. Changing a second gene also appears to do little. Put both changes in the same genetic background, though, and the result can be substantial.

“I break this gene, nothing really happens. I break this other gene, nothing really happens. I combine them into the same genetic background, and now there’s a massive effect,” he says.

Those interactions matter as researchers gain the ability to edit multiple genes at once. They also complicate any simple account of how a trait works: improving a seed may depend on understanding what several genes do together.

For Reed, the question is whether that knowledge could help seeds germinate reliably when conditions are difficult. Some of the genes he studies prevent germination under certain conditions. That response may serve a plant well in one setting while limiting its usefulness in agriculture. He wants to learn what happens when those genes are changed, and whether the result improves establishment.

Yet a discovery that works in a lab still has a long way to travel before it reaches a field. Reed argues that agricultural biotechnology faces an economic challenge as well as a scientific one. New tools can create value for farmers, he says, but developing them requires a way to support the work in an industry where margins can be thin.

His fellowship with Flagship Pioneering gave him a view across AI, agriculture-related work and human health research. It also reinforced the importance of bringing people with different expertise into the same conversation—a benefit of gatherings such as the NAPB meeting.

“You need to have a team of people with different backgrounds who are willing to work together and approach the same problem in different perspectives and different ways,” he says.

That thinking connects the different parts of Reed’s path. Latin taught him to examine details without expecting a perfect answer. Gene editing lets him test what individual genes do—and what happens when their effects combine. Working with people beyond his own field helps him ask what those findings could become.

He came to agriculture because of its reach: the possibility that work by a small group of researchers could eventually make a difference on a much larger scale. His immediate focus is smaller and more precise. He wants to understand what helps a seed get through its first days and become a healthy plant.