Weather is one thing that we humans have no control over. Farmers are at the mercy of this phenomenon, and every year brings something different to the equation. In the summer of 2015, we are experiencing too much rain for agriculture in the eastern portion of the United States. The skies have been unrelenting this year, releasing a good deal of moisture, with too few hours of adequate sunshine, which is a requirement for healthy crops.
One case for example, there’s about $300 million in Indiana crops’ value lost to flooding so far. This is not good.
“Torrential rains and resulting flooding have destroyed as much as 5 percent of Indiana’s corn and soybean crops and potentially have caused about $300 million in crop damage since the beginning of June.”
Wheat is another crop that has been altered, due to too much water. The yield is not going to be what it should be, because the wheat crop suffers from too much rain.
For the most part, spring provided us with some fantastic, sunny weather. Yet, summer has brought too much of a good thing to many. Furthermore, the moisture will bring banner crops in some areas, while other crops will suffer. It’s a dichotomy for farmers this summer.
The strawberry season in Vermont has been great so far, yet farmers worry that “the end of the strawberry season could be affected if mold takes a hold.”
In California, there’s an entirely different problem of bigger proportions. In fact, the trend is to “rip out water-hungry lawns and replace them with more desert-like plants.”
“With California facing one of the most severe droughts on record, Governor Brown declared a drought State of Emergency in January and directed state officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for water shortages. The state has continued to lead the way to make sure California is able to cope with an unprecedented drought.”
