Rain, Weather and Farming
Contributed by Charlie Brummitt
The nicest thing about the rain is that it always stops. Eventually.
-Eeyore
For the last fourteen months, Eeyore’s opinion seemed so very wrong. Since November 2018, our rainfall is twenty-six inches over average. While we don’t know what the lasting impact will be on trees and shrubs, we know what our farmers are working through.
Hillary Kimmel of PTB said they’ve lost a month on planting outside of hoop houses but impact on their animals has been relatively small. Garland McCullough said his chickens at Massey Creek are eating less, laying less and tracking in more dirt. In other words, he has more work to do to bring fewer eggs to Market. Russell Farlow said their fall crops were a total loss and that’s why they made an early exit from the Market last fall.
Delayed planting is a common theme even for farmers who have green houses since almost all farmer plant outside and inside to keep the Market filled with produce year-round. Dirt, mud, delays, and still our farmers managed to deliver every week.
Of course, rain isn’t the only thing out of a farmer’s control. No need to list all the possibilities. Like death and taxes some affect all of us. Farmers may suffer more.
As trite as it sounds, we depend on rain. A popular and accurate bumper sticker says, “No Farmers, No Food.” It could add “No Rain, No Food.” Rain is a necessity and too much rain becomes a blight. Frustrating, but farmers know that anger doesn’t help.
Nabokov has a quote for that emotion.
Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.
-Vladimir Nabokov