The National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for Wednesday night and Thursday morning in Southwest Colorado, warning of adverse impacts to crops, which are more vulnerable to a freeze after weeks of unusually hot and dry weather.
The alert includes Cortez, Durango, Dove Creek, Mancos and surrounding communities.
“We’re used to it freezing this time of year. The problem with this year is the fact that it’s been so warm. Things are coming out of dormancy a lot earlier,” said Kacey Riedel, executive director of the Montezuma County Farm Service Agency.
Temperatures are projected to reach 27 degrees in Cortez overnight, with colder temperatures this weekend. According to Riedel, the unusual weather has prompted more farmers to seek assistance from her agency, which offers an insurance-like safety net in the event of reduced crop yields or significant losses from natural disasters.
Farmers interested in disaster coverage through the Farm Service Agency can call (970) 677-2229, ext. 2, for Dolores and San Miguel counties, or (970) 565-9045, ext. 2, for Montezuma County. The agency offers protection from conditions such as drought and freeze, both of which are factors this week.
“Everything is in bloom really early this spring, and that’s directly related to how dry the ground was,” said Jude Schuenemeyer, co-director of the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project.
The U.S. Drought Monitor places Montezuma County in the severe drought category. Schuenemeyer said wet ground stays colder, which can keep crops dormant longer. The impact of the freeze on the county’s 200 historic orchards remains uncertain given the ongoing drought.
The historic orchards, he said, may be more resilient to weather fluctuations because of the diversity of crops they contain.
“Once you get into orchard size, your best defense at this altitude is going to be that diversity that the old orchards have,” Schuenemeyer said.
Homeowners with a few fruit trees can try stringing up old Christmas lights that emit heat or spraying trees before a freeze to create a layer of insulation, Schuenemeyer said. For large-scale farms, however, those methods are less practical and less effective.
“There’s no instant solutions in climate,” he said. “The key with orchards here: You can’t look at it as ‘we’re going to solve this right this second.’”
Some relief may come from rain continuing in Cortez through Wednesday.
“This rain is going to help all of the trees out enormously,” Schuenemeyer said. “The more healthy and vigorous trees are, the better they can withstand frost and frost damage.”
A single frost could even benefit orchards by thinning blossoms, resulting in larger and sweeter fruit, Schuenemeyer said. But repeated frosts could severely damage production, and a more significant cooldown is expected this weekend, with temperatures in the high teens and low 20s forecast Friday night into Saturday morning.
“That’s going to be the greater danger,” Schuenemeyer said.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
