Cold weather made a surprising sweep through Alabama over the weekend, but local agriculture experts say it could be two or three weeks before any costly effects are seen.“They were all impacted, but I won’t know to what extent for another four or five days,” said Talladega corn and wheat grower Bob Luker. “I’m just hoping it wasn’t long enough or cold enough or whatever to do the most damage; but I know it was cold enough.”
The temperatures were predicted to hit the freezing mark Friday night, but it was Saturday night that proved to be the coldest of the holiday weekend. According to the Associated Press, Decatur was the most frigid in the state at 23 degrees and Anniston wasn’t too far behind at 26 degrees. The drop below freezing lasted nearly 10 hours.
“A lot of people were calling on Friday asking what they could do with their individual peach trees and things like that,” said Wanda Jurriaans, Talladega County Extension coordinator. “If they have a limited amount they can cover them, but if they have a big field of crops, there’s nothing we can tell them to do.”
Peaches, corn and wheat were initially reported as the most at-risk items. As of Monday evening, the Associated Press said that Blount County had a 100 percent loss of peach, pecan and plum crops, while Chilton County, famous for its peaches, had an 80 percent loss.
Luker said he was up at 6:30 a.m. Sunday to evaluate his damage and found the frost on top of his entire field. The corn isn’t too much of a concern, but losing the wheat is what scares him.
With corn crops, Luker said the older stalks, usually those that are 8 inches or higher, will have the more severe damage. He has a couple of 100 acres with some stalks at the foot high mark, but they can be replanted. The ones still underground, about 4 inches long or less, should be fine.
“Corn is pretty good about coming back, if they’re small. At worse, the corn is only a setback,” he said. “I’ve got all the money tied up in the wheat.”
For the wheat, it’s almost harvest time and once the heads have emerged, those crops are susceptible to almost anything. A regional agriculture specialist is coming from Auburn Friday to examine Luker’s wheat crops.
If it is ruined, he won’t be able to replant and said he’ll have to look to replacing the space with soybeans or cotton.
“We just have to trust the Lord that things aren’t going to be that bad,” Luker said. “If not, it’s just the nature of farming.”
Jurriaans said the weather is supposed to be back in the 80s by the end of the week, and in close to three weeks, plants and gardens should start getting better.
She said anyone who is able to cover their plants until the cold weather passes must remember to uncover them once the heat comes back, otherwise they’ll burn.
“Easter is over so we should have some warm weather coming up,” Jurriaans said.
