BOZEMAN, Mont. — Wildfire smoke hanging on for weeks may still matter for some Montana forage crops, even though much of the wheat and barley harvest have already finished.
Hayes Goosey, an MSU researcher who studies forage crops grown to feed livestock, explained the biggest concern from smoke lasting this long is that it can act like extra cloud cover.
“I wouldn't expect any real effects on plants in two or three days of smoke cover. But the real heavy, dense smoke is obviously going to stop or slow photosynthesis to some degree, which could have impacts on quality,” he said.
Much of those crops have already been harvested, which lowers concern for some fields. Goosey said the bigger issue could be perennial crops that have already been cut twice and still needed time to recover.
“You need to give these perennial plants time to grow because what they do is then they need to store — they come back from rootstock, and if you don't allow them to winterize, they don't get enough carbohydrates put into the roots,” Goosey said.
Establishing those perennial fields can cost a lot, which is why growers try to protect them once they are producing well.
“Once you get a perennial field set up you want to keep it in as long as you can. It's a lot of work getting these fields set up," he said. "Once you get them set up and you get a good stand going, it's in your best interest to kind of baby that stand,” he said.
Had wildfire smoke arrived earlier in the summer, there would have been more concern over impact on yield and quality of the current harvest.
For farmers who have not harvested yet and are still dealing with smoke, Goosey said they should stick with their normal irrigation schedule. Beyond that, he said there was not much else to do while the smoke remains.