Spring is soggy

First, and for what seemed like an eternity, there was a blanket of white snow. Then, the melting snows and steady rains gave way to a sea of red mud. But finally, the landscape is turning at least 20 shades of green, and it seems Orange County may have made its way out of a long, cold and unbearably wet winter.
Spring in the air can mean a sigh of relief this year for folks whose livelihood depends on the weather. Orange County Extension Agent Steve Hopkins said the snow and rainfall totals over the past few months have contributed to a generous groundwater level.
"The wet weather we've had this winter should really bring the water table up. That's a good thing for wells, springs and watering livestock," Hopkins said.
In fact, water-wise, the region has a good start on the entire growing season, according to University of Virginia Director of Climatology Jerry Stenger. Heaps of snow and buckets of slow, steady rain have replenished the groundwater supply, and Stenger said the precipitation came at an ideal time of year - when evaporation rates are low, and plants and trees aren't stretching thirsty roots down and absorbing moisture.
"This is the critical time of year for replenishing ground water reserves," he said. Later on in the growing season, the chance of precipitation - usually only the product of the occasional thunderstorm and not a multi-day cold and constant rain like last weekend's - is less likely to play a part in replenishing groundwater.
The 54 inches of snow, ice and rain that descended on Orange between November and February equates to more than 20 inches of total precipitation, Stenger explained. That's far above totals for the same period in the average year, he added.
"In an average year, with about 18 inches of snowfall, that would translate into about two inches of water," Stenger said. "The total for November through February has been about 160 percent of normal [precipitation totals]. So we have made great strides in picking up our moisture.”
And looking ahead a few months, Hopkins projected a bountiful hay crop this spring, thanks to abundant precipitation.
"We have ample moisture going into at least the first cutting of hay," he said.
In the present, however, there's a fair amount of clean-up and catch-up necessary to keep pastures at their peak.
Where livestock repeatedly stood at the feeder and where farmers drove in and out with grain and hay bales, the ground is churned up and beaten down, and there are great, near-bottomless bayous of slop and fallow land in what should otherwise be the beginnings of lush and nutrient-rich pasture. And that's a problem, according to Hopkins. To restore that compacted patch back to grazable land, farmers will have to reseed or rest the area by keeping livestock off of it until the grass has a chance to rebound.
According to Hopkins, keeping livestock fed through the memorable winter of 2009 - 2010 was an expensive and time-consuming chore.
"Feeding livestock has been a challenge to say the least this winter," he said.
The deep snow fell early, fell often, and ultimately kept the ground covered for a total of 66 days, according to data from the Northern Piedmont Agricultural Research Station. Back-to-back blizzards with high winds and sustained sub-freezing temperatures brought additional hardships to some farmers, Hopkins said.
That forced farmers to increase feed by an additional 25 to 50 percent, and to start feeding earlier in the season, than they would in a typical winter.
Local farmers reported that heavy snow loads caused barn and shed roofs to collapse. And because snow storms coincided with calving season, Hopkins said there were high rates of mortality in Orange County herds this winter.
In fact, conditions were difficult enough for some local growers and producers that Hopkins intends to submit a resolution requesting federal disaster assistance. If the Orange County Board of Supervisors approves Hopkins' resolution, it will be forwarded to the governor's office, and then on to the USDA. If approved, the disaster designation could enable Orange County farmers to apply for low interest loans.