Utah's January hurt livestock growers

Mother Nature had Utah farmers a bit anxious again in January, a month of unseasonably cold temperatures combined with "dismal" snowpacks.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, in its "Utah Crop Progress & Conditions" report released Monday, found that abnormally cold temperatures and little precipitation in January caused problems for livestock growers in the state.

"Cooler temperatures dominated the month of January," the report stated. "Snowpacks for this winter have been dismal. Snowpacks are 49 percent less than normal in some counties. Farmers and ranchers are getting worried that they won't have enough water for their irrigated crops and livestock. Stock water ponds have also frozen in some areas around the state, causing concern among some livestock producers."

Randy Parker, president of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, said the cold weather put a lot of stress on livestock producers, who make up 80 percent of the state's farm gate receipts.

"When you go through a cold snap like the 18 days we just went through, that puts a lot of stress on the animals and the producers," Parker said. "It takes more energy for the animals to maintain their body heat, which means it takes more high-energy feeds."

In Millard and Juab counties, Parker said, some producers were forced to manually transport water to their herds because wells had frozen in the subzero temperatures.

According to the NASS report, Wayne County producers reported that the severely cold weather caused health problems with newborn calves, while a few producers in Beaver County reported losing new calves due to the cold weather. Uintah and Duchesne county livestock producers said they also struggled to keep their animals' water supplies from freezing.

But the NASS Utah Field Office director, Rick Kestle, said it isn't time to panic. Warmer weather is returning, and the state is coming off two good water years, so reserve levels remain pretty high.

"While the snowpack is well below normal, the reservoirs are still pretty high," Kestle said. "Unless we have a disaster, or something close to it, we'll probably muddle along just fine this year. The problem will be if we bring down the reservoir levels this year and then have another bad year next year."

The Natural Resources Conservation Service reported that as of Monday, precipitation levels ranged from about 51 percent of average in the Price-San Rafael area to 77 percent of average in the Escalante River basin region.

There might even be some good associated with the sustained frigid conditions, Kestle said. Some producers in Weber County are hoping that the cold weather will reduce insect pests.