News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
UT Extension Agents encouraging Upper Cumberland farmers to work now to protect farms from any frigid temperatures.
Van Buren County Agricultural Agent Chris Binkley said farms and farm equipment suffered during last December’s freeze. Binkley said that cattlemen can avoid added costs in the spring by winterizing their facilities and using the cold months to maintain their equipment.
“We had a lot of people last year who, when those temperatures dropped, if you don’t have your equipment or your farm winterized, it could cost you a lot of money,” Binkley said. “We wanted to get somebody to give some ideas on what’s the hot spot, so to speak. What are the things they need to really pay attention to when those temperatures drop.”
Binkley encourages farmers to attend to pipes, pumps, and well houses that could be at risk of freezing. Binkley said now is the perfect time to do some routine maintenance on that hay equipment and the rest of the tools that have been used all summer long to make sure that they’re in good working order next spring. next,
“We’ve heard a lot of people talk about pipes getting busted where they’ve got wells in their well houses and those pipes got busted,” Binkley said. “This Spring, we had a lot of farmers tell us about sprayers and things like that that got frozen and busted during that time that didn’t know about it until the Spring, so we’re just trying to get ahead of the curve.”
Binkley also warned of the dangers that winter can cause to heavy machinery on a farm. Farmers need to check the anti-freeze in their tractors and trucks before a freeze, Binkley said. Farmers should top off the fuel in those vehicles to prevent the forming of condensation and be sure to use the correct seasonal oil blend to prevent gelling.
