From the Fields - Grant Chaffin

By Grant Chaffin, Riverside County farmer 

A few weeks ago, we planted our upland cotton. Temperatures were unseasonably cool, so we got a 10-day to two-week-later plant start. The plant develops very systematically based on accumulated heat units, so if it’s cooler at the very start and gets hot quickly, the plant may be more susceptible to heat stress. With a general warming pattern in March, that plant has built a pretty good, sturdy structure by the time we get to July 1, when we start to see our heat-stress days. The plant’s got a hardier load to it, so more fruit retention. It’s a more mature plant, so it tends to abort less fruit. A cool planting period could mean the plant is a little less mature when we get to our significantly high temperatures. We might have more fruit that gets aborted, and we lose some of that crop.

We’re just starting our third cutting of alfalfa. These are our big cuttings right now, so it’s all hands on deck.

Our dehydrated onions were planted in November, and they’ve got a pretty good structure on them. We’ve probably got three weeks left where we can get in with ground rigs. Everything will be aerial applications after that.

We’re seeing a little relief in prices on some fertilizers. We’re definitely seeing higher interest rates in borrowing money for equipment, and that has absolutely put the brakes on any new equipment purchases we were previously forecasting.

The feds had a big announcement on the Colorado River. I’m still trying to gather all the information on that, but I don’t think we’re out of the drought by a long shot. Certainly, we’re in a better situation in the very short term by having some snowpack. A significant snowpack is better than no snowpack. I think we’re going to have adequate water for this calendar year, but a good snowpack right now doesn’t mean we’re going to have adequate water for next year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.