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Montgomery County's agricultural community was relatively unfazed by predictions that more than two feet of snow would blanket the region this weekend.

Equipped with generators, heavy machinery and an understanding of the relationship between weather and the land, farmers are uniquely poised to weather storms, said Jeremy Criss, county agricultural services manager.

"If there's anybody in the county that's self-sufficient, it's the farmers," he said.

Snow can actually be a boon to agriculture, Criss said. The snow puts moisture into the soil and recharges often stressed water tables, he said, and it insulates cover crops, which are planted in the winter to reduce erosion and add nitrogen to the soil.

Some farmers have been unable to harvest crops such as corn and soybeans because of wet weather since the fall and will have to wait until the spring, Criss said.

"The farmers had a very difficult time getting into the fields to bring in the harvest because we had rains at a time when they couldn't get heavy machinery into the fields," he said. "...More than likely their yields will be significantly less."

It doesn't take much for the county's 1,000 horse farms to adapt to heavy snow. At NFF Stables in Poolesville, horses that are boarded outside can stay in the fields in up to three feet of snow, owner Amy Wokasien said. A de-icer on their trough keeps the horses' water accessible and eating hay keeps them warm, she said. The biggest danger is the horses hurting themselves on ice.

Wokasien lives on the property and cares for the 82 horses boarded at the facility by herself when her employees are housebound.

"It seems like there's so much more work," she said. "You have to shovel a path just to dump a wheelbarrow."

Lion's Den Farm in Laytonsville cancelled riding lessons for the winter due to erratic weather, horse wrangler Sharon Lofgren said. Snow-covered or icy roads can keep farmers from transporting their product for sale, said Wayne Warfield of Babble Brook Farm in Etchison.

Deer will strip down a nursery's plant stock "like a lollipop" when all other vegetation is covered by snow, Brant Baker of Susanna Farm Nursery in Boyds said. Heavy snow can cause greenhouses or other structures to collapse if they don't have sloped roofs, said Jane Kinzie of Kinzie Farms in Poolesville. And large volumes of snow prevents daily pruning of the trees at Kingsbury Orchards in Dickerson, Gene Kingsbury said.

Snow crushed and killed the entire crop of leafy greens earlier this winter at Fox Hollow Farm in Gaithersburg, owner Stephanie Rohrer-Scuderi said.

But it also brings new life.

Animals often give birth during storms, she said. About 40 animals were born during the last storm and another 40 or so were expected over the weekend, she said.

"We are in baby mode right now," she said. "They always choose the coldest time of the year to have a baby."

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