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June 15, 2007

Inside the Golden Circle: Rain, rain ...

Area farmers could use a slight break

By Raymond Linex II

While rain continues to fall, keeping some farmers from harvesting crops, you don’t hear many complaints. The bounty of rain is a marked improvement over the recent drought years.

But is it becoming too much?

“I’m a farmer, and anything can happen,” said Kerens-area farmer Tim Crawford. “You never want to be optimistic until you get it in the basket.”

Crawford grows grain sorghum, corn and cotton. It’s been a good spring for grain and corn, area farmers have said, but the cotton’s a little late because of the wet stuff, Crawford said.

Most farmers would like to see the rain cease for a few weeks so they can harvest crops, but only wheat producers seem to be feeling an immediate pinch.

“There are some challenges that come into play,” Navarro County Extension Agent Derek Scasta said. “It’s almost been too much (rain). It’s time to cut wheat, and some of the guys can’t get into the fields. It’s too muddy.”

In addition, some of the wheat is ending up on the ground.

Still, Scasta said, don’t expect a lot of crying over the water.

“I said I wasn’t going to say anything about the rain, but at this point I am about ready to call calf-rope,” said Kerens Grain’s Sonny Carpenter, using a term meaning, “I give up,” similar to calling “uncle.”

“I’d like about five or six days to harvest,” Carpenter said Thursday. “It’s just getting dry enough to get into the fields.”

Carpenter said those words with knowledge of forecasted storms for this weekend. He said he has been harvesting every day, starting as early as possible and running as late as possible.

Floyd Henderson said the rains also closed the window for corn planting. He missed out because it was too wet, and he has been unable to get his 80 acres of wheat in Rural Shade harvested.

“If you didn’t put corn in early, you just missed out,” Henderson said.

Ranchers are in a similar situation. The grazing is good because the grass is growing, but hay processing is being slowed.

“There’s a lot of grass for hay, but if they can cut it, they put it to the side and it gets rained on,” Scasta said. “It loses quality.”

The overall consensus is the corn and grain crops are above-average, and wheat just depends on the ability to get in the fields. And, the rain is better than the alternative.

“You can’t grow anything without water,“ Crawford said. “We were fortunate last year in (the east part) of the county to get enough rain late in June to manage decent crops.

“But I’m not griping about the weather. We’ve got a lot of water, I just wish it would stretch out over 12 months.”

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Raymond Linex II may be contacted via e-mail at rlinex@corsicanadailysun.com

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