Last week’s up and down temperatures, wind and general messiness may have left many north country residents with forward thoughts of salubrious summer days.
SACKETS HARBOR â In a few hours he will be in a tractor harvesting wheat, but Ronald C. Robbins is in his office in the meantime, rattling off the latest weather in different countries.
He has become a student of world weather patterns, which proves useful in such a volatile time during which grain prices have skyrocketed to the point where some smaller farmers are leaving the industry entirely. A bushel of grain could sell for anywhere between $6 and $7 today, and it was about $3.50 a year ago.
Mr. Robbins, the head of one of the largest farms in the north country, has an explanation for factors driving the price spike.
North country farmers see benefits of crop cover Cover crops (Source: WWNY) By Emily Griffin | May 6, 2021 at 6:17 PM EDT - Updated May 6 at 6:17 PM
TOWN OF HOUNSFIELD, N.Y. (WWNY) - Spring is the time of year for farmers to take to the fields and prepare their crops. Some are getting help from the ground itself.
You may see some green on the ground and think that itâs early for crops. But, these are no ordinary crops; theyâre cover crops.
âItâs just a crop thatâs planted outside of harvesting crops. So, we have a harvested crop thatâs taken off the fields and instead of leaving the soil bare, we make sure we have something living and growing in the ground 365 days of the year,â said Mike Hunter, Cornell Cooperative Extension field crop specialist.