Summer Heralds a Busy Season for METROGRO Farm
Just outside of Deer Trail, CO, is where you’ll find Metro Water Recovery’s METROGRO Farm. Here, METROGRO® Cake (fertilizer created by the biosolids dewatering process), from both the Robert W. Hite Treatment Facility and the Northern Treatment Plant are applied to the land for crops such as wheat, barley, and milo.
Jason Zimbelman serves as the administrator of the METROGRO Farm and for him, the winding down of spring, and transitioning into summer, means that life at the farm is about to get very busy. By now, the farm has transitioned from a skeleton crew to a crew of seasonal helpers. As Summer kicks off, the farm is sure to see a variety of challenges.
The enemies of a successful harvest can come in many forms, ranging from weather to bugs. Insects such as the sawfly (a relatively new pest in this part of Colorado) are a wasp-like bug. The sawfly gets its name from how the larva carve out the wheat stems, leaving a sawdust-like debris behind. Unlike the pests that consume crops, such as aphids, the sawfly damages crops by laying eggs in the stalk of the wheat. When the larva hatches and carves their way out, the weakened stalks fall over below the level that a harvester can grab and harvest it. The downed wheat drops seeds when it dies off and new wheat stalks grow the following year. This is bad news as fields need to be rotated each year.
Bugs, Weather, and Wind
The enemies of a successful harvest can come in many forms, ranging from weather to bugs. Insects such as the sawfly (a relatively new pest in this part of Colorado) are a wasp-like bug. The sawfly gets its name from how the larva carve out the wheat stems, leaving a sawdust-like debris behind. Unlike the pests that consume crops, such as aphids, the sawfly damages crops by laying eggs in the stalk of the wheat. When the larva hatches and carves their way out, the weakened stalks fall over below the level that a harvester can grab and harvest it. The downed wheat drops seeds when it dies off and new wheat stalks grow the following year. This is bad news as fields need to be rotated each year.
Weather events can also pack a punch to the farm. Drought is a classic barrier to farming, but too much rain can also cause problems that can extend into the next year. “We’re still recovering from last summer with the erosion,” said Zimbelman. Last year’s growing season was one of the wettest in Colorado history. The farm got over 30 inches of rain compared to the annual average of 12 inches. As a result, the wheat harvest was one of the latest in recorded history. And while the farm got a robust crop, some roads and fields are still being repaired from the damage caused by the deluge of extra rain.
That leaves the wind. The open farmlands of Eastern Colorado can see gusts up to 80 mph which can have a disastrous effect on the overall crop. This year, some spots have already seen significant wind. One of the lowest harvest years due to strong winds happened in 20
And Then There’s Fire…
Another challenge in the summer growing season is fire, which can be one of the most dangerous risks for the farm. The summer brings thunderstorms to the farm which usually is a welcome harbinger of incoming rain. However, a dry crop like wheat can easily catch fire by lightning strikes.
Looking Forward to an Average Summer
Last summer we saw an exceptionally wet season followed by a mild drought in the winter. So, one may wonder what the 2024 summer season will hold for the METROGRO Farm?
While the weather is wildly unpredictable, some long-range forecasts both by the Farmer’s Almanac and the National Weather Service Climate Change Prediction Center seem to indicate an average year for this summer. That all sounds good to Zimbelman, “I’ll be very happy with an average year.”
After facing the recent two extremes (2022’s low harvest and last year’s unprecedented wet year) a ‘normal’ year seems to be a reward. Only time will tell.
Fun Farm Fact:
In the quiet open rolling hills of fields, several varieties of wildlife such as coyotes, antelope, deer, porcupines, badgers, snakes, and even a mountain lion have called the farm home. During the Dust Bowl some homesteads were built and today the remains of the Wallace Homestead and Wordell House are a reminder of the tough life on the prairie before our time.