Moultrie Observer

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July 11, 2007

Rains offer Band-Aid

Kevin Hall

MOULTRIE — When you’re in a drought, every little bit of water helps.

“Any amount of rain is doing us some good,” said Scott Brown, Colquitt County’s Extension agent, with reference to the pockets of rainfall that have been scattered about the community.

Wednesday’s showers marked the seventh rainy day this month, already making it one of the rainiest of the year, and Brown said thirsty crops are benefiting.

According to Georgiaweather.net, a University of Georgia web site that posts weather data collected at Spence Field, Moultrie received 5.91 inches of rain in June; as of Wednesday afternoon, July had brought 3.33 inches plus an unknown amount Wednesday night.

Brown said, though, that the eastern part of the county has received more — more than nine inches during June around Berlin.

The rain in the last 10 days has been pretty much county-wide, Brown said, which is exactly what local farmers need. He called the showers “a water Band-Aid.” Even better would be a county-wide rain that came slowly and stayed a day or so, he said.

“I wouldn’t want a hurricane or even a tropical storm, but a tropical depression would be nice,” he said.

Crop progress is about a month behind, Brown said, because planting was delayed and growth slowed by the dryness. One crop that’s really suffered is hay production.

Larry Varnadoe, the Extension office’s livestock expert, said the rain is helping hay farmers recover, but they can’t recoup the lost days of the growing season. They’ve lost one-third to one-half the year’s crop, he estimated.

Usually a hay farmer has his first cutting in late May and his second around the first of July. Now, in mid-July, some farmers are getting their first cuttings, Varnadoe said, and others haven’t even done that yet.

But the rain has been good news, he said.

“Most everybody I’ve talked to has grass in the pastures,” he said.

That means livestock can feed through the summer. Come winter, the limited hay crop plus some alternative forage crops like sorghum, plus some winter forage crops and store-bought feed will keep the farms going, he said.

“Most everybody is going to figure their way through this,” Varnadoe said. “… Profit margins are going to be a lot thinner than in years past because they’ll have to buy more feed.”

Assuming the rain continues, that is. Varnadoe said a return to the long dry spells of earlier this year could set forage production back further and create real problems.

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