On my way out to the family farm this week, I saw first-hand how a couple days of rain can have a wide-ranging impact on the fortunes of those who grow crops for a living.
The hearty soaking was a blessing for farmers who only recently planted their winter wheat. But many fields where the wheat had already sprouted had vast ponds where the rainwater pooled…and by the time the water evaporates that wheat may well be drowned out.
Farmers who have already been able to harvest their corn and soybeans have to be delighted with the rain this week, even as neighbors whose crops weren’t quite ready for the combine now must wait for the fields to dry – a wait that could well reduce yields and ultimately profits.
One field of soybeans looked especially forlorn, the brittle brown stalks loaded with beans but the ground far too soft for heavy equipment. I wondered what would be salvagable by the time harvesters arrived.
It reminded me of something I heard from my father and other farmers countless times over the years: you can do everything right for a crop, but you’re still at the mercy of the weather.