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NEWS
Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | June 13, 2018
Recent rains a mixed blessing for Virginia farmers By Vicky Moon
Contributing Writer
Many farmers will tell you they prefer drought to excessive rain. With parts of Virginia receiving two months’ worth of rain in two weeks, this spring’s rainfall definitely counts as extensive. Too much rain for too long can be devastating to an agricultural operation. It affects different farms differently, depending on location (top of a hill vs. the bottom), soil type, crops produced, or animals raised, the time of year and where a farm is in the planting, growing
or harvesting schedule. A recent Virginia crop progress and condition report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service noted some farmers in the state have been watching their crops for disease and in some cases have delayed planting because of wet fields. The recent heavy storms also delayed fieldwork and had some impact on previously planted corn and soybeans and nearly mature small grains, according to the report. Robert Harper, grain manager for Virginia Farm Bureau Feder-
ation, said many farmers have reported 3 to 16 inches of rain. In many places, he noted, “There’s water standing where it hasn’t been standing for a long time.” Harper said producers he spoke with were “cautiously optimistic, looking forward to the sun coming out.” As for planting delays, “We were a little bit behind anyway from the cooler weather in early spring. And with the kind of equipment we have now, people can catch up really fast.” According to NASS, as much as 52 percent of topsoil and 61 percent of subsoil on the state’s farms
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had adequate moisture to sustain crops. Forty-six percent of the topsoil and 32 percent of subsoil had surplus moisture. Conditions were rated mostly good for barley, corn and winter wheat and fair or good for hay and pastureland. Two percent of barley grown for grain had been harvested, 91 percent of the wheat crop had headed, and 85 percent of corn had been planted. In addition, producers had planted 59 percent of cotton, 50 percent of peanuts, 95 percent of summer potatoes and 26 percent of soybeans, according to NASS. Tobacco growers had transplanted 40 percent of burley and fire-cured tobacco and 60 percent of flue-cured tobacco. In Fauquier, as in other counties, wine grapes and other plants are very susceptible to fungi, which like wet weather. Excess water can affect crops in numerous ways. Plant roots need water and food, but they also need air. Standing water can drown plants, especially young ones. Roots of new plants don’t have to search for water, so roots might be shallow in the soil, making them more susceptible to later drought. When farmers have to replant, the growing season is shorter, which reduces yields - the amount grown per plant. Rain on cotton can destroy its quality, reducing its value as a crop, according to the report. Animal agriculture is also affected by the rain. It can destroy hay or greatly reduce its yield, or extremely wet fields can keep animals from grazing efficiently. Parasites thrive in the wet weather, causing problems from disease to loss of quality of wool. In horses and cattle, excessively wet conditions and flooding can cause foot rot. Farmers are more dependent on weather than almost any other occupation, and for them, it is not just an inconvenience. Weather, including too much rain, can make the difference between a good year and a disastrous one. Numerous Virginia Cooperative Extension agents and others who shared weather updates for the report indicated rain was needed. Doug Horn, an Extension agent in Rockingham County, said that area “got a month’s worth of rain in six days.” Mike Broaddus, an agent in Caroline and King George counties, noted that crops there “have vastly improved since last week’s rains.” The rainfall was more than needed for other parts of the state. “Rain and ripe strawberries do not mix,” reported Roy Flanagan, an Extension agent in Virginia Beach. Agent Scott Reiter, who serves Prince George, Surry and Sussex counties, shared that standing water in crop fields “will mean that replanting will be needed in some areas. Corn, cotton, soybeans and peanuts are affected.”