WAVERLY, Neb. (KMTV) — 2019 has been a tough year for farmers, and now this new recent stretch of cold weather is a growing concern for some of their crops.
"If we could have planted earlier this year, it wouldn't been as near the concern if you would have had a normal planting season, but I don't even know what a normal planting season is," said Paula Peterson a farmer in Waverly. "We did not get the heat that we normally get, so we were really concerned that we were going to run into frost in September or early October," said Peterson.
That concern became true, as the freeze warning for Friday and Saturday may cause damage to some crops, like soybeans. "If we are at a light freeze it just puts everything on hold it doesn't allow the beans to dry down to where they should be," said Peterson.
That process could eventually split the pods open, causing the beans to fall to the ground. "Then you start running into losing some of the production, it will be on the ground and there is not way to get soybeans off the ground," said Peterson.
"I'm sure there are some corn and soybean farmers who wouldn't mind getting another week or two of some slightly warmer temperatures," said Brian Barjenbruch of the National Weather Service in Omaha. He says it's not unusual to have a freeze warning this time of year, and this latest one is leaning towards being a lighter one.
"We're looking at anywhere from 28-32 degrees for several hours overnight, it will be enough to freeze the surface of the water to kill any sensitive plants but usually have to get below 28 to get a good hard freeze," said Barjenbruch.
Peterson is praying the freeze won't cause lots of damage to her crops, as she is ready to the 2019 farming year to be over. "You have good years and bad years, and when you have been rolling in it this long you kind of know to expect work smart for the good years so you'll be ready for the bad years," said Peterson.
With that freeze warning, N.W.S. says to make sure to disconnect your hoses from your house, bring in sensitive plants, and keep your pets indoors.
