Farmers prepare for Friday night cold burst

BUTLER COUNTY Ky.-Food on the table comes from the fields of farms. The farmers that own those farms are at the mercy of the weather, and with record cold temperatures expected Friday night, concern is growing. Farmers like Ryan Emmick from the Struttin Rooster farm are preparing for the worst.

“We saw on the extended forecast that there was the potential of this cold coming in. We’ve been watching it so we feel like we’re somewhat prepared for it, but at the same time, when you’ve got crops in the ground, and we have some that are ready to start growing. It gets worrisome,” Emmick said.

Even cooler weather crops can suffer if the weather gets too cold, which in turn could affect when these crops make it to market shelves.

Farmers can prepare for upcoming cold temperatures in several ways, such as laying plastic covers, and watering through the night, which is actually beneficial in colder weather. A task that some farmers will perform tonight.

“In some instances, I know we’re going to have farmers watering their crops all night long. The water as it freezes releases heat, and that will help to protect plants. It’s going to be an all-nighter for a lot of our farmers around here,” Emmick said.

While May of 2020 has brought a mini winter for South Central Kentucky, Emmick said he’ll be ready for some serious agriculture once the warm weather returns.

“As soon as it warms up, I know every vegetable farmer and every orchard will be hitting the fields hard and getting things in the ground quickly and getting ready to recover from this quick freeze we’re going to have. Let’s get some heat rolling and we’ll get the vegetables growing for sure,” Emmick said.