As of March 8, severe drought has enveloped our area and expanding in all directions from Barton County. The drought level continues to increase as you head towards the northwest and especially the southwest corner of the state where exception drought is creeping in. This most recent snow won’t really change our drought status. The six to ten-day outlook (March 15 to 19) indicates we can expect a 60 to 70% chance of well-above normal temperatures and normal to slightly above normal precipitation. That would help the wheat to hang on but won’t recharge soil moisture. The eight to 14-day outlook (March 17 to 23) indicates a 50 to 60% chance of above normal temperatures and 33 to 40% leaning below normal for precipitation. If the outlook holds true, it will not only present challenges for the wheat crop but also for corn, especially dryland, as planting time is only three to four weeks away.
As this is Women’s History Month let’s take a look at some important women in agriculture, both past and present. First, Harriet Williams Russell Strong (1844-1926) who was an early pioneer in water conservation and irrigation (including work on reservoirs and dams). Her work pioneering irrigation system and reservoir research landed her in the Inventors Hall of Fame.
Alice Evans (1881-1975) was an animal scientist and was dubbed “The Pioneer of Safe Milk” for her pioneer work on bacterial diseases of cattle and in milk. While suffering severe criticism for her work, she was eventually proved correct. Her contributions included identifying several bacteria involved in cattle disease and spontaneous calf abortion and diseases in milk affecting humans. Her research led to the mandatory pasteurization of raw milk.
Dr. Mary Engle Pennington (1872-1952) was dubbed The “Ice Woman” of the “Cold Chain” for her work on keeping food safe via refrigeration. She was also heavily involved in developing methodology to safely process, handle, and transport dairy, poultry, eggs, and fish products.
Dr. Temple Grandin is still very much with us and revolutionized animal handling and facility design at farm, ranches, and slaughter houses despite being autistic. She supports animal rights and yet is very respected in the agricultural animal industry. She has changed the way livestock are handled to minimize animal stress and increase humane handling throughout the livestock industry.
There are so many other from the past through today. The danger in such a short article is leaving out so many worthy women and their achievements. It pays to remember that all these women made contributions in nontraditional areas for women. And even someone like Dr. Grandin had to face challenges in a male dominated field. The other women preserved and flourished at a time when few women went to college and even fewer were researchers. This makes their accomplishments all the more remarkable.
And finally, we must remember all the women currently involved in agriculture and consider how many are running their agricultural operation.
Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207, or martinv@bartonccc.edu.
