Farmers across the Great Plains are in their fields trying to gauge the damage from this weekend鈥檚 snowstorm. So far, the results are mixed.
The storm鈥檚 timing made it particularly destructive for wheat growers across the Great Plains. But it wasn鈥檛 the cold temperatures that caused the most damage: it was weight. The snow was so heavy it snapped wheat stalks in half. It鈥檚 still unclear exactly how many wheat acres were lost.
— Sean Harkness (@harkness_sean)
The news was better for melon growers, though muddy fields have kept some farmers from getting a full scope of the potential damage.
Few cantaloupe and watermelon plants had started to sprout by the time the storm moved through, meaning they were safe from freezing temperatures. Still, some growers will likely have to replant portions of their crop, which could slightly lessen the amount of Rocky Ford cantaloupe this year, or push back harvest.
Late season snow and frost is a part of life for many farmers and ranchers on Colorado鈥檚 eastern plains, and they have adapted to it. While this storm brought heavy, sometime damaging snow to the region, it will also act as an infusion of moisture in an area currently classified as both 鈥渁bnormally dry鈥� and in moderate drought in from Nebraska鈥檚 National Drought Mitigation Center.
Brian Knapp, a melon and vegetable grower near Rocky Ford, says he鈥檒l take the added precipitation, even if it means a small amount of crop damage.
鈥淲ith how long the growing season is,鈥� Knapp says, a melon grower near Rocky Ford, 鈥渨e could end up with something way worse than this storm.鈥�
