Mild winter, uneven rain putting strain on water

GRASS IS GREENER: Forklift operator Paul Maynard stacks pallets of sod at Sodco Inc. Mild weather has caused a spike in sales for the company. / PBN PHOTO/CHRIS SHORES
GRASS IS GREENER: Forklift operator Paul Maynard stacks pallets of sod at Sodco Inc. Mild weather has caused a spike in sales for the company. / PBN PHOTO/CHRIS SHORES

The March sunshine that warmed the fields at Sodco Inc. in North Kingstown nurtured a lush crop of bluegrass this spring and record early-season demand for turf from eager contractors, golf course managers and homeowners.
It was a stark contrast to the previous March, when snow and ice covered farms and nurseries throughout the state and planting jobs were put off until people were sure there wouldn’t be another blizzard.
But weather is fickle and in agriculture too much of a good thing can quickly become bad. If the mild winter and spring is followed by a dry summer, it will almost certainly mean drought.
“We had the best March in the 30-year history of the business and definitely sold more because of the weather,” said Sodco Farm Manager John Eidson. “However, we also had to start irrigating in April for the first time in the history of the business. Overall this mild weather has been good for us, but time will tell.”
At the end of April, after dry, hot weather brought brush-fire warnings across the state, rainfall totals for the year were 7 inches below average. Last week’s showers brought the total to about 5 inches below average.
Still, despite a wet fall that included deluges such as Tropical Storm Irene that kept Rhode Island’s drinking-water reservoirs full, groundwater and the volume in local streams and ponds, which farms rely on, is still significantly below normal.
The R.I. Water Resources Board’s Drought Steering Committee, which didn’t meet at all last year, met in April and again May 8, but has not issued water use advisories.
Cooler temperatures and 3 inches of rain in late April eased the fire threat and helped close the precipitation gap, but state Division of Agriculture Chief Kenneth Ayars said it will take several storms to make up for four dry months. “The recent rain and cooler weather was really beneficial – it has provided a couple of weeks reprieve,” Ayars said between the recent storms. “But we were at such a deficit that one event will not put us out of it. It would take fairly substantial rainfall to get us back to normal.”
For farmers, the first impact of dry weather is the need to irrigate, which is often labor intensive and comes with pumping-related fuel costs higher this year with gasoline near $4 per gallon.
Annual crops like fruits and vegetables are just now getting in the ground, but nurseries and farms that feature perennial crops like grass, shrubs and trees have already been dealing with the dry weather.
At The Rhode Island Nurseries Inc., in Middletown, business so far this year is way up from last year along with the amount of field work the nursery has been able to get done and the number of workers employed, said General Manager Jesse Rodrigues, who also sits on the state’s drought-management steering committee.
On the flip side, irrigation costs are already three times higher than they were at the same time last year,” Rodrigues said.
“We have had to switch to a summer mentality,” Rodrigues said. “I think it caught a lot of people by surprise.”
Rodrigues said a general rule of thumb is that crops need an inch of water a week. At Rhode Island Nurseries, putting an inch of water on the fields means pumping about 22,000 gallons.
For nurseries, Rodrigues said May and early June would be the critical period where rain or its absence could create a large swing in outcomes.
“In this industry, if you have a good spring, you can carry yourself through the fall,” Rodrigues said. “What concerns me is [the rain shortage] is getting close to prime time.” Along with the warm weather, many agricultural businesses are hoping that the strong early-season business they have seen is a result of the economy picking up again after several bad years.
Similar to construction and other industries that rely on new development, landscape, turf and nurseries were hit hard by the housing-market collapse.
Especially in the southern part of the state, agriculture-connected businesses are a large part of the Rhode Island economy.
A report released last month by the Rhode Island Nursery & Landscape Association estimated that 2,500 agriculture businesses – including farms, landscapers, florists and golf courses – generate $1.7 billion to the state in economic activity annually. Those businesses were also responsible for creating 12,300 jobs.
At Sodco, Eidson said early-season demand for turf has come from a wide range of the business’ customers, including homeowners, commercial clients, municipalities and golf courses already getting heavy play, wear and tear.
The dry weather also fits in with Sodco’s bet on a kind of grass called “turf type tall fescue” that can grow in sandy soil and requires one-third the water of traditional bluegrass.
The question Eidson and others are asking now is whether strong early sales will continue into the late spring and summer months, or whether “we are just stealing May business in April and March.”
If the cycle of small storms that have produced showers recently continues and prevents a drought, Eidson said the mild, dry winter will end up being a major positive for Ocean State agriculture.
“If we have rain we will be fine: our wells and ponds are full,” Eidson said. •

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