There won't be any July 4 sweet corn from Pennsylvania since winter was so wicked, Barron L. "Boots" Hetherington, special advisor to the governor for agriculture, said Tuesday.
"If we do have any, it's going to be scarce. To have sweet corn for July 4, you have to have it in the ground by late March and everyone I've talked to up and down in the state has none in the ground yet. The soil's been too cold and wet for farmers to plant," Hetherington, 60, of Ringtown, who runs B&R Farms in Union Township with his wife, said.
There was still snow on Jim Hepler's alfalfa fields last week.
"We're going to get a late start this year. Planting's going to be two to three weeks late this year," Hepler, 61, said March 31.
On Tuesday, the snow was gone and the bright green tips of one of the perennial's crowns were poking up through the Earth. But it was still too cold to plant new alfalfa at a nearby corn field at his farm at 120 Helfenstein Road.
"To plant alfalfa, the soil must be 40 degrees right at 7 a.m.," Hepler said Monday.
At 11:45 a.m. Monday, Hepler stuck a soil thermometer the size of a ballpoint pen 2 inches into the ground. After five minutes, it registered 39 degrees.
"I think we're a bit off yet. We'll be ready to plant new alfalfa in two weeks," he said.
Cool soil and rain have prevented local farmers from getting out to plant.
"In comparison to other years, we usually have a lot more field work done by now. The ground is far from being fit for us to go in and do some tillage and early planting of vegetables. We have yet to do any plowing or tilling. I'd say we're 10 to 14 days behind," Brett Stehr, 40, said.
He and his brother Henry, 48, are partners at Kenny Stehr & Sons Farm, Pitman.
And the weather's been testing their patience.
They're anxious to get out and start planting 450 acres of crops, including sweet onions, sweet corn, potatoes and cabbage.
"We start all of our vegetables from seeds. So we have plants in the greenhouse that are ready to come out, but we're unable to do that because it's been so cold," Stehr said Monday.
Hetherington said he believes winter 2013-14 will affect farmers all along the East Coast.
"The lingering effects of cold-soaked or snow-covered grounds will likely deter a normal start to the fieldwork season across the eastern-third of the nation. The ramifications of winter 2013-2014 will continue to be felt well into spring 2014," according to an article published Friday on the website for Farm Futures at www.farmfutures.com.
The winter will be remembered for cold temperatures and snow. Since winter 1999-2000, the average seasonal snowfall in Schuylkill County has been 44.29 inches. From the first snowfall of the season Oct. 24 through Monday, a total of 61.7 inches fell in Schuylkill County, according to Kevin Fitzgerald, a meteorologist at National Weather Service, State College.
Fitzgerald wasn't sure if there would be any more snow in Schuylkill County this spring.
"You're never out of the woods until late April, especially if you're on the high terrain in Schuylkill County," Fitzgerald said Monday.
"My grandpap used to say spring was a condition, not a point in time. If it's too wet, too cold and there's snow on the ground, whether it's February 1 or April 1, it's not fit to plant," Hetherington said.
"In the 44 years I've been farming, I've seen everything. I've had droughts. I've had flood. And I don't know if there is such a thing as a normal year. I never had one. You're offered new challenges every year and you have to deal with them," Hepler said.
Hepler's two sons - Josh, 33, and Jesse, 37 - work with him on the farm.
Josh said the heavy snows and colder temperatures of this past winter might help farmers in some respects.
"It should have killed off weed seeds. It might have helped with pest control," he said.
Brett Stehr isn't sure about that.
"I don't think we had a lot of frost in the ground. And the reason why is before it got really cold, we had a heavy, heavy snow pack and what that did was insulate the ground to some extend," he said. "We dug some holes back in February and I expected the frost line to be at least a foot deep, and in places there was hardly any, which surprised the heck out of me."
On Monday, Hepler said there were a few factors holding up his planting season.
"Normally, we'd be planting new alfalfa in mid to late March. We're two to three weeks late. Right now, the ground is still too cold. The frost hasn't come out of the soil yet and, with the rain, the soil is saturated. It's wet and that's good to some degree. This is going to mellow the soil and begin the process of greening things up. It will tell the DNA in those plants out there, 'Hey, it's time to wake up,' " Hepler said.
As showers soaked the Earth on Monday, Stehr said he's hoping for some sunny days and 60-degree temperatures.
"If we can dodge the next storm system and get some sun, maybe we can make something happen over the weekend," Stehr said.
Hepler anticipates he'll be able to plant alfalfa in two weeks.
"Fortunately, we had a great year last year and we'll have some carry-over. We're not hurting for feed," said Hepler, who has 250 dairy cows on his farm.