Weekend snow could benefit and hurt Southside farmers

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY (WSLS 10) - For Donnie Moore, the snow itself that is currently forecasted for this weekend is not ideal, but the moisture the snow would bring is.

"Our small grains, the hay and pastures, they are forming. These abnormal warm temperatures, they're trying to grow, really, a little too early," Moore explained. "With no water, it's kind of stunting them."

The moisture would help the wheat grow taller, which means Moore would have more straw to sell.

"We put up a lot of straw to sell as a secondary market for our wheat. If that straw is short, it doesn't make much straw. The hay, same thing. You want a lot of quantity," explained Moore.

As for his tobacco crop, it won't be in the ground for about another two months, but the moisture from the snow would help prepare the crop for the summer and that is critical given how dry the weather has been since last fall.

"It's building on that soil bank to get moisture down in that subsoil so that when June, July, August comes they'll have something to draw from," Moore said.

Pittsylvania County Extension Agent Stephen Barts said the snow could be detrimental for fruit growers.

Fruit is a high-value crop but isn't grown on a large scale in the county like tobacco.

"One frost event or just one instance of freezing can ruin their entire crop for that year. So, the income potential is eliminated in a very small amount of time," explained Barts.

He said some growers have been watering their strawberries to try to keep them from freezing, but watering is only good for about six degrees of warmth, meaning if the temperature drops more than six degrees below freezing, the water won't help and the crop could be lost.