This year's spring equinox the earliest since 1896

MONROE COUNTY — Meteorological spring began on March 1 and ends May 31 as opposed to astronomical spring which begins March 19 and ends June 20.

Meteorological spring is based on the annual temperature cycle of March, April and May. Astrological spring is based upon the earth’s position relative to the sun. This date can change slightly depending on when the sun crosses the equator before heading into the Northern Hemisphere, also known as the spring equinox. This year it will happen at 11:06 p.m. March 19, which is the earliest in March the equinox has occurred since 1896, partly due to leap year.

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center forecast for March 13-19, as of March 5, is calling for last a 50% chance of above normal temperatures and leaning to above normal precipitation. Now that spring is here, or almost here, depending on your definition, questions always come up asking when is the last frost date? The updated MSU 30-year average (1980-2010) spring freeze date (28ºF) is April 13, and the frost date (32ºF) is April 25. The growing season has lengthened by two weeks since the previous 30-year average spring and fall frost dates of 1950-80.

Farmer sentiment for February rose modestly in February, according to Jim Mintert, director of the Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture. Farmers surveyed said they were somewhat more optimistic about the future, while sentiment about current conditions remained unchanged from January. However, farmer expectations of their financial performance did not improve. Weak commodity crop and livestock prices and high input costs continued to weigh on financial expectations.

The February Ag Economy Barometer survey was conducted from Feb. 12-16. Farmers remain concerned about farm profitability and said now is a bad time to make large investments. The February survey did ask about interest in leasing farmland for solar energy development, with over half the respondents said they were offered a lease rate of $1,000 per acre or more, though the payment rate varied widely. Several farm publications have had recent articles about pitfalls of wind and solar contracts. Farmers need to ask lots of questions and beware of the fine print. This is one time to be wary of information gained from googling farmland solar leasing. A much better source is to Google the National Ag Law Center and look for articles about leasing farmland for green energy.

The National Agriculture Law Center is an entity within the University of Arkansas and affiliated with the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA. It is the only agricultural and food law research and information facility that is independent, national in scope and directly connect to the national agricultural information network. Current topics of interest include: foreign ownership of farmland, industrial hemp, solar leasing of farmland, among a broad array of topics. There is a terrific search feature to look for a particular topic of interest with over 50 subject specific “reading rooms” and has white papers, factsheets and issue briefs covering various topics. A couple of years ago I sent a request asking about a draft business plan and the responding senior staff attorney happened to be a Monroe County native, who then came back to be the 59th Ag Banquet speaker two years ago.

Harvest ruts may be easy to simply till over, but the subsoil can remain compacted. Companies such as John Deere, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, among others, have long had studies calculating machine and soil resistance, tractor and implement weight, ballasting and wheel slippage. Lots of tractor horsepower and comfortable tractor cabs have “insulated” some farmers from working fields when soil and weather conditions are not suitable, leading to compaction, cloddy fields or affected soil structure. At the Commodity Classic, John Deere just introduced its new 9x tractor, rated up to 830 rated horsepower, which was wonderful to sit in as it is indeed an “office on wheels” for farmers needing to spend many hours a day working the fields.

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Lawn care can be a big financial and important aesthetic investment. One concern often mentioned in early spring is crabgrass prevention. Crabgrass is a rapidly growing, coarse-textured yellowish-green grass that is conspicuous in finely textured and dark green cool-season turfgrasses. Crabgrass is a low-growing summer annual weed that spreads from seed and roots. In simple terms, crabgrass preventer herbicide needs to be applied before the soil temperatures reach 60 degrees. A good diagnostic tool for homeowners is to look for when forsythia starts to bloom.

— Ned Birkey is an MSU Extension educator emeritus and a regular contributor to The Monroe News.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: This year's spring equinox the earliest since 1896