La Nina conditions have developed and are expected to remain through the winter season, which typically means a period of drier precipitation. With the current unseasonably warmer December temperatures, Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau President Jake Armstrong says he would like to see a hard freeze to set up for a good spring:
“I would like to see us get a little cold, get some insects killed. We do need a hard freeze and we do need some precipitation to set us up for a good spring. The big thing this year is the warmer soil temperatures. Like I said we need a freeze to stop that nitrogen from turning into nitrate and leeching down through the ground. When the ground freezes, those micro-bacteria stop in the soil, they stop that progress, so we really need it for that.”
Armstrong also says utilizing N-Serve has paid off this year, stabilizing nitrogen until next spring.
**Written by WMOI/WRAM Director of Communications Kelsey Crain**
