The month of January is rolling or sliding among, as a good share of the state gets to walk over the snowdrifts and skate on the ice-covered yards and ground. What made it bearable was that the December weather was so mild and warm that we seem to have avoided thirty days of normally cold conditions. Another arctic blast is predicted to move thru the state and give us wind chill temps of -20 to -25 to any uncovered skin or body part. The good part is that the days have gotten noticeable longer, with sunset coming about 80 minutes later than in December.
It can be interesting how words we commonly use take on different meaning. I skimmed the headlines this morning and saw that the drought down in Georgia had ended. At first I was wondering when the storm moved thru to give them enough rain to end their dry spell. I read a bit further and saw they were talking about their Georgia Bull Dawg college football finally beating Alabama in a national championship game. It only took them forty years to do so. Speaking of football, I didn’t watch many games except for the last 5 minutes of the Packers vs 49ers and then the Chiefs vs Bills. The last one had as rabid of an ending as I have ever seen in any game. For either of the two teams and quarterbacks to lose with the effort they gave, was just unfortunate.
Then in what might become the biggest news of the last two weeks was the large Tonga volcano explosion. It was rated as one of the four largest eruptions of the last 200 years. In order, they list Tambora back in 1815 as the largest. Counting what was under the water it was 14,100 feet tall. Its explosion sent enough ash and sulfur gas high into the stratosphere that it blocked enough sunlight the next year that they experienced frosts every month of the year in the settled eastern states. Food production was seriously affected in many countries. Second on the last was Krakatoa in 1883, It stood 1475 feet tall and most of it was below sea level after the explosion. Pele was next as it exploded in 1902. The Tonga blast sent ash and debris to a height of 14 to 19 miles, or twice the height needed to put ash into the stratosphere. So far, the reports and scientists predict that sulfur release was not very high, so by itself it may only affect the temps in the N. hemisphere by less than .4% of a degree. What is an unknown is how many other volcanos might become active by mid-summer and resume spitting out ash.
Is this unusual? Not in a long-term study. If a person travels about 2.5 hours west of Sioux City you can tour Ashfall State Park. They began excavating a rancher’s pasture after several large bones sticking out of the side of an eroded ravine when the rancher was looking for wayward cattle back in the mid-1960s. They ended up unearthing a huge cache of extinct mammal bones left when volcano dust was blown into a waterhole area 12 to 15 million years ago. The ash was released by a chain of volcanos located out in ID as the tectonic plates kept migrating westward above a deeper plume underground plume.
Post Tonga Predictions
We stopped to tour the EROS station N of Sioux Falls where the archive all satellite photos of the earth. We learned that Montana’s landscape was basically formed by 5 or 6 volcanic mineral rich flows. What no one can predict is which other geological site decides over the next months to blow its top.
One crop prognosticating researcher that sent out his guesses on what it may do to S American crop production is finding out that the ash cloud may have reached as high as 55 to 65 km. His group is doing some very interesting modeling. That dust is now getting into the air that will be circulating the globe at 20-degree S latitude. They are predicting a 5 to .9 temp reduction but have not yet guesstimated any sunlight reduction figure. Air from the two hemisphere halves do not typically cross over the equator. The current reports for the major grain producing states in S. America tell of how they are having a number of days where the temps have been 105 or higher during their pollination and grain filling stages. Drought losses can usually only be detected or measured at the end of a growing season.
Dr. Simon Atkins typically takes reading of the positive or negative ions moving enmass around the globe. Negative ions represent cooler air and conditions while positive ions represent warmer of hotter conditions. While he is expecting a cooler climate he is predicting periods of rather intense heat, which motivated growers may want to manage their crops against the stress that may come with that heat they may also want to use any product that would help increase radiation use efficiency. The Mainstay Si is the main product that would function in that role as it creates a deeper layer of cells to capture the chloroplasts contained in the sunlight.
The Aquaculture Conference
Last Thursday was the day for the Aquaculture Conference held in Ames. The attendance was decent and made up of farmers and others who wanted to hear the details of what it might take, permit wise, feed wise, marketing wise if they wish to become involved with raising fish. With the Webster City fish farm not currently operating, the largest fish raising operation is about twenty miles north where Mr. Sweeney is operating a Tilapia growing operation on the outskirts of Ellsworth. There are lots of tanks there containing fish of all sizes. Totes containing live 1.5 lb. fish are being shipped mostly as live fish to different restaurants and outlets.
A Chicago native by the name of Glenn Ford spoke next and gave a great broad vision of food production and how it, food storage and food processing occupied space #1 and #2 in how to civilize a country. He is a visionary who recognizes that most of the fresh food consumed in many states, including those in the Midwest, is not being produced locally. Now that greenhouse and hydroponic technology has advanced he feels it is the time to establish designed 40 acre growing facilities in each state to prove the concept works and can become moneymakers for each chosen location. The site is all designed and planned already and will be located about an hour from Ames. In other locations the major fresh food firms contact these operations right away as the produce and its flavors become fast sellers within their customer bases.
The thought then is to include a fish raising section, but raise a higher value specie such as Australian Sea Bass (Barramundi). With its taste and texture rivaling that of $24/lb. fresh halibut it should be a big seller. One discussion was about the grains that might serve as a food source for these fish. A few of us had learned a bit about the business and what would be required for optimal production. We made sure that they understood that the best diet was not based on least cost ingredients. Also, that mycotoxins and pesticide residues need to be recognized, quantified, and avoided.
As an aside the Fresh Thyme Grocery store in West DM usually stocks and sells the Barramundi in vacuum packed, twin fillet 12 oz pouches. We eat it at least once a week and love it.
The Practical Farmers Convention
One group that had a beginning in the Boone area held their annual conference on Friday and Saturday. They had maybe 600 in attendance. There were attendees were of all ages, with more being either <40 yrs. old or smaller operators who are looking to add another enterprise, crop, or type of livestock to their farm. Most seemed to be subscribers to regenerative Ag ideas, where they are not out to grow the most bushels, but focusing more on what may give the highest ROI. In an era of exploding fertilizer and input prices and uncertainty about input supplies for the upcoming crop, more operators may be thinking the same way going into the season.
One thought that has come to mind for a number of growers is to develop plan B if Nitrogen prices remain high or the herbicide supply does not meet overall needs. More people must be thinking the same way, in that one published producer survey had a very measurable swing away from corn if the cost to apply their normal amount of N is close to $200/A. Oat prices of $7 to $8/A, with much lower input costs, may bring in a wider variety of crops to our landscape. Demand by large dairy and the higher methionine content of oats is going the same thing in NW Iowa. With the new amino acid chelated minerals keeping the grass crops healthy and rust free will now be easy and inexpensive. It could also partially solve the riddle of how to best manage CRW.
Bob Streit is an independent crop consultant and columnist for Farm News. He can be reached at (515) 709-0143 or www.CentralIowaAg.com.