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by Rett Davis | |
Gardening Q&A by Rett Davis appears in
Alamance County's daily newspaper, The Times-News,
every Sunday in the Accent section. Each week's installment is
posted to this
website, beginning with January of this year. Scroll to the bottom of
this page to navigate to other Gardening Q&As. Please contact
Rett via e-mail with questions
or
comments in regard to this column.
We made it through the last six months of the budget cycle by scrimping and postponing purchases. Lowering the thermostats and turning off the hot water heaters in the Agricultural Building were one of many 'little' things we did to stay within in our suddenly reduced budgets. Things can get a little contentious around the office when people are cold and can't wash their hands in warm water.
I yearned for planting season to start. Even without the funds to fully reimburse us for our gas, I prayed for an early spring to relieve me of the constant deliberations of budgets, lack of funds, and the effects of down sizing. Spring would not come early this year despite my wishes. This time a new record is made in the form of a late freeze. It occurred on May 21 a full month later than our average. Farmers had to replant adding to their costs. Few fields and type of crop escaped damage.
The summer of 2002 is now in the record books. This is one record I hope is never broken. It was the worst drought the Piedmont of North Carolina has ever seen. It was heartbreaking and demoralizing for those that make a living farming and others in the green industry. Creeks and ponds dried up. There was little water anywhere for irrigation and pastured animals. Wells went dry. Lawns, trees, vegetables, and garden plants withered. Farmers saw their investments dry up before their eyes. No field crop escaped this time. Only the few that had some irrigation water made it. It was a struggle for them too. Irrigation is both a blessing and a curse. It takes money and labor to irrigate. Like anything mechanical, it breaks down. It was a long summer.
The year 2002 was filled with all sorts of unusual oddities that scared people. We had to deal with an ever expanding threat of rabies. Then came the mosquitoes. The fear of West Nile virus drove people to edge of paranoia. Overtime a bird died with West Nile virus it made the news. I learned that the world is full of mosquito experts and expensive devices to get rid of them. The biggest benefit from most of this was to boost the local economy.
Biosecurity was the hot topic this year. The fear of someone sabotaging our food supply had bureaucrats scrambling. The fear of aerial assaults from crop dusters reminded me of an old James Bond movie. Remember the scene with all the Piper Cub planes flying over Fort Knox spraying some type of gas that immobilized the soldiers. Needless to say we really did have some problems here in Alamance County. Avian influenza infected quail were discovered here. This virus put a fear into all poultry farmers. Those farms in the quarantined areas basically locked down their farms. Visitors were not welcome. Delivery trucks drove through disinfectants. Signs were posted. The fear of losing all your birds was very real. If just one chicken was diagnosed with Avian influenza then all the chickens would have to be killed. We are talking thousands of birds in each house.
The record setting drought continued on. The year of 2002 saw an end of tobacco sales at our last tobacco warehouse. Most of the tobacco is now sold on contract. A once prominent part of our history is now gone. Tobacco farmers did not fare well despite their contracts. The late cold weather, summer heat, and lack of rain resulted in lower yields. Even disease resistance plants could not hold up under these stressful conditions. A record number of plants became infected with a virus carried by tiny little insects called thrips. It was not a good year of tobacco farmers.
Dairy farmers are in no better shape. They are receiving record low prices for their milk with no end in sight. It is a grave situation for them with no immediate relief in sight. Coupled with these low prices was the loss of most of what they planted this year to feed the herd throughout the winter. A dairyman must now buy feed he once grew and harvested. More expenses for a struggling farm. How long they can hold out I do not know. Dairying has been a big part of our Alamance scene for the past 100 years. Who hasn't enjoyed a ride through the county were the fields are green and seen dairy cows grazing. A lot of acreage in this county is dedicated to the of feeding dairy cows.
We had a record number of textile mills closing and the laying off of employees. Our state is rapidly shedding itself of its old employers, traditions, and way of life. A new landscape is developing whether we like it or not. If you can profit from it in some way then you will welcome these changes. If not, then life can be a struggle trying to find gainful employment that will give you some sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Those jobs are hard to find and keep.
Now we are recovering from a record breaking ice storm. Over 1.5 million people were touched by this storm. The damage to trees is substantial. What a mess it made. Now everyone is pointing fingers and trying to lay the blame on anyone connected to the energy industry. We were forewarned on this one. The weathermen deserve a gold star as do all the women and men that got our power back on. Enough said.
So 2002 has been a roller coaster of a year. 2003 does not look any better from what I see. The State of North Carolina is in as bad of financial shape as it was last year if not worse. It looks like another round of budgets cuts are in the works as soon as the new year begins. Fortunately I do not have the ability to see into the future. I can only hope and pray 2003 will not be as tumultuous. It seems that all the records we broke this year made life harder for everyone. The only one that I can think of that helped in anyway was the record breaking reduction in home mortgage rates. But that comes with hook in the form of lower savings rates.
So I end this year somewhat depressed. The records that were broken this year are nothing to be proud of. It has had negative influences on my coworkers and the clientele they work with. Most of those we work with have asked of our help. It saddens us to see what they have to deal with and the pressures put upon them. I have the greatest amount of respect and admiration for them. It is what makes me still get up at 5:45 each day to try to help everyone in this county in some small way. This will be my 30th year. I hope and pray 2003 will improve for all. My thanks to all the residents here for letting me be their county agent. Happy New Year!
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