Spring Reveals Problems for Northeast Ohio Wine Industry

Photo Credit: The Wine Merchant

The snow has disappeared and many Ohioans are getting excited about sunny days and outdoor pursuits, while the agriculture industry is looking back at the effects of winter and preparing for the upcoming planting season.

As I discussed in an earlier blog, this winter had many negative effects on Ohio’s agriculture industry. In particular, freezing temperatures have greatly impacted Ohio’s wine and grape production.

According to Farm and Dairy, Northeast Ohio is in danger of losing its grape crop. The region may even receive a disaster declaration, which is a type of aid to help farmers recover after losses from natural disasters, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

January started out with the polar vortex and below zero temperatures were recorded throughout Ohio. Quoted in the Columbus Dispatch, Gary Gao, an Ohio State University Extension specialist, estimated that European grape varieties have probably sustained 90 to 100 percent injury.

In Farm and Dairy, Nick Ferrante, of Ferrante Winery, said he doesn’t expect a grape crop in 2014.

“I’m hoping we don’t have trunk damage to the vines, but we probably will have some,” Ferrante said.

Donna Winchell, executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association, estimates that between 40 to 100 percent of the grape crop could be lost.

“The problem is that these are the grapes we are betting our national reputation on,” Winchell said.

Quoted in an article by the Wine Merchant, Winchell remembers walking through vineyards in 1994, the last time temperatures were this low.

“It was like walking through Rice Krispies,” she said. “You could hear them snap, crackle and pop. That was the cell structure of the vines exploding.”

Northeast Ohio is a huge producer of wine, with more than 1,300 acres of grape vineyards and 20 wineries, according to the Northeast Ohio Grape and Wine Economic Impact Study. In a 2007 survey by Orbitz, Northeast Ohio was ranked the 6^th best wine destination in the United States.

Potential losses in the grape crop will have a large impact on the Ohio economy. The grape crop and subsequent wine production are valued at $6 million and $20 million, respectively.

One thing is certain, however. The price of Ohio wines will not go up this year because of a good 2013 season, which resulted in a wine surplus. However, the future of the 2014 and 2015 seasons are uncertain. 

How has the weather affected your crops this winter?

Polar Vortex Affects Ohio Crops and Livestock

Image courtesy of Bill Griffin 

Months ago, the Farmer’s Almanac predicted a “frigid winter with bitter cold and heavy snow,” but this season is turning out to be rougher than expected. Above average snowfall and extreme temperatures are causing problems for many farmers across Ohio.

During the week of Jan. 26, the minimum temperature across Ohio reached 11 below zero, as reported in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin. This is a 10-degree departure from average minimum temperatures.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, much of Ohio’s wine-grape, peach and blackberry crops have been lost. Fruit buds, bushes, vines and trees have sustained damage, although the exact magnitude of the damage is unknown. 

“The viniferous or European grape varieties have probably sustained 90 to 100 percent injury to their primary buds,” said Gary Gao, an Ohio State University Extension specialist.

Dick Jensen, owner of the Flying J Wellness Farm, said his spinach and kale crops stopped growing.

“Last year, we had beautiful spinach, kale and arugula all winter,” Jensen said. “This year, everything pretty much died.”

In addition to freezing crops, the cold streak also disrupted grain and livestock shipments across the United States. Frozen troughs have affected milk production on Stacy Atherton’s family owned Shipley Farms in Newark, Ohio.

“We were down on milk quite a bit, two pounds per cow,” Atherton said. That added up to a “1,000 pounds’ difference from what we normally ship in a day.”

The extreme cold affected many crops and livestock alike. How has the extreme cold affected your farm?

Warm thoughts for the frozen donkeys

In the past month, Ohioan’s have experienced some of the coldest recorded temperatures in decades. Just this week, we were blasted with yet another winter storm heralded by news teams as our biggest this season.

It has been a particularly frosty start to the year, especially for our outdoor animals. Earlier in January, around the time of the “polar vortex,” I read a slew of online articles about keeping livestock and pets safe during periods of dangerous cold.

Here are the most sensible tips I read on OCJ.com, including these specific for livestock without access to a barn:
• Provide windbreak protection to lower the effects of wind chill on energy needs
• Move animals out of muddy conditions or reduce the mud with a feeding pad
• Increase access to better quality forage
• Limit corn or high-energy, non-starch feedstuff

It was this story however by Turkish news site DHA about a herd of unattended donkeys, frozen together in a snow-encrusted huddle that made me gasp. Watch the footage filmed by the DHA news crew in the village Siverek, as the donkeys stand so close for warmth they appear frozen solid. 

I’m relieved to report that a team was sent to rescue the donkeys, which were taken to a nearby animal shelter for emergency care.

Warm thoughts for us all to get through this final winter stretch.

Photo obtained from: www.todayszaman.com