I Beg to Differ

…If it clouds up in the city, the weather man complains

But where I come from

Rain is a good thing!

Rain is a good thing…

…Farmer Johnson does a little dance
Creek’s on the rise, roll up your pants
Country girls, they wanna cuddle
Kids out playin' in a big mud puddle

Rain is a good thing!

…Start washin' all our worries down the drain
Rain is a good thing, rain is a good thing

Rain is a good thing, rain is a good thing

Rain is a good thing, rain is a good thing

Rain is a good thing, rain is a good thing

Rain is a good thing!

                       -Luke Bryan “Rain is a Good Thing”

Enough already!

So close, but yet so far...
it's raining SO hard that I can't get out of the truck to open the gate!

Ever since the release of Luke Bryan’s wildly popular song in early 2010, it seems that a whole lot of people think that all farmers want it to rain all the time.  

I cannot tell you how many folks have said, “guess you’re lovin’ all this rain!” 

(okay...it's not really Luke Bryan's fault...)

Rain is great, rain is wonderful…rain is essential to our survival. 

However…

another day-another downpour
this time I'm stranded in the hoophouse

This year we find ourselves in the odd position of praying that it will NOT rain.  …at least for a few days.

While many folks think that farmers want rain, LOTS of rain, and Luke Bryan’s song has us out dancing, drinking and enjoying the downpour, there comes a point when too much moisture causes all sorts of problems.

The corn and bean farmers (who actually got their crops planted) are seeing some amazing growth.  That’s good.

The hay farmers are either watching the hay crop get more and more mature…too mature, or they “washed” the hay crop in the unexpected, torrential rains that keep popping up.  That’s NOT good. As a matter of fact, that's very bad!

there's a river through the barnyard

On a personal level, vegetable crops really don’t need this much water. The challenges that come with TOO much moisture are every bit as challenging as drought conditions.

Disease runs rampant in the warm, wet weather.

The bug population increases exponentially. Slugs and snails in particular, are eating everything they slide over.

Proper pollination becomes an issue as flying insects don’t get out much on dark, rainy days.

the strange shape is due to poor pollination--these will never look "normal"

Weed seeds, dormant for years, germinate and threaten to take over the entire garden.

Too much water causes tomatoes to crack open.

Crops, like cucumbers, where the fruit sits on the ground are subject to rot.

…and the animals are at risk for all sorts of parasites and possible foot issues due to the weather conditions.

When we face drought conditions, we can irrigate.  That’s not the perfect solution, but it does help. Oddly enough, I quoted a different part of this same song two summers ago when we were experiencing very different, very DRY conditions.  Read this.  For the record, I actually like the sound of the song and it’s in the MP3 line-up that is an essential part of my work routine.

However, there are no umbrellas big enough to cover our farm. (or any other farm, for that matter) There is no way to divert the rain water to some of our agricultural brethren elsewhere who are praying diligently for moisture.  Although, believe me, we would if we could.

So, we do other stuff.  We hope and pray that tomorrow will be a little drier.  That we will get a chance to get those potatoes in the ground. 

potatoes are cut and ready to go

can't plant potatoes in THIS!

That we will be able to get the crops for fall planted…BEFORE fall.

But, for the record…we’re not out dancing in the creek OR mud puddles. Although I have nearly lost my boots more than once in all the muck.

 …and right now,

 SUN would be a good thing!