Cold snap leaves crops in danger

By Albert Lea Tribune and Associated Press

An early frost came at a bad time for Minnesota farmers, who were hoping to continue to grow their crops into October after heavy spring rains delayed planting or killed crops in the region.

The effect of the frost has been different from field to field, with farms in Sibley and Le Sueur counties seeing the most impact.

Amboy farmer Gary Eisenmenger said the lowest portions of his field got cold enough to freeze plants to the ground.

Eisenmenger said his crops of soybean and corn were already struggling to mature because of the summer’s unusually cool and wet weather.

“Our plants weren’t as mature. So the frost significantly slows down the maturing process. That’s why the frost is a much bigger event than it should be,” Eisenmenger said.

Donna Nelson of Donna Nelson Insurance in rural Alden said she has seen where crops on one side of the road were damaged while crops on the other were not.

Damage “will be dependent on how far along the plants were when the frost hit,” she said.

Nelson said it appears crops south of Freeborn County Road 46 were hit harder than crops north of the road.

Kent Thiesse, a farm analyst at MinnStar Bank, said the impact from plant to plant was largely dependent on the geography and amount of moisture present when temperatures dropped.

Eisenmenger said the frost is not an insurmountable challenge, but will take time to overcome.

“Mother Nature. Ha. She holds all of the cards,” he said.