How dry I am.!?.!?

[Farmwithjunk]

I aughtta let the TV weather guessers do my taxes. They make things disappear right before my very eyes. We had a front headed this way with rain. Once it got to with-in a few miles, it evaporated....literally.

Spring arrived in early March, about 2 months ahead of schedule. 80 degree weather with gentle rains. Everything took off like it was May. Then April got here. It brought January weather. With everything budded and ready for summer, we had 3 weeks of temps in the teens and low 20's. EVerything was stunted. Then summer arrived. June and July were dry. VERY dry. Right at the end of July, we got a teaser of rainy weather for about a week. Just enough to bring a few things back out of dormancy. Then back to dry. August and September are historically the dryest months of our weather year. It's D.R.Y. Parts of our state are 14-1/2" below normal for the year. By my records, we're right at 11" short.

I understand further south from here has it even worse.

I WAS planning on plowing up an old hayfield and replanting this month. That's on hold for now. No...NONE....zero soil moisture in the upper 2'.

I sold my first cutting of hay for prices I thought were nuts. I wish I had it back. It would sell for double the price. The mowing business was going like gangbusters. It's a little slow now since nothing is growing.

OK.... How dry are you? And how has it effected your future plans? How has it effected you NOW?

 

[Bird]

Yep, this weather is just plain crazy. Some areas getting too much and some too little, and the distance between too much and too little may be very few miles. After a 2 year drought, so far this year I've gotten about:
Jan = 3.4"
Feb = .68"
Mar = 3.89"
Apr = 9.47"
May = 8.3"
Jun = 16.09" (yep, it was a really wet June)
Jul = 1.3" (while the DFW airport, less than 20 miles away got 5.54")
Aug = .33"
Sep = .49" (that was night before last and I'm 20 miles north of Dallas, while the south side of Dallas got 4" to 5" and had flooding).

 

[Farmwithjunk]

To add to the misery factor, we had our hottest August on record, which included 5 single day record highs, and 6 record highest night-time lows. The record WAS 21 consecutive days 90 or above. That's now 26 days.

 

[N80]

I feel your pain. Same way down here. Although we did get some rain about two weeks ago that greened things up in the area where my property is and where my B-I-L's farm is. Looks like he might get another hay cutting.

I just planted food plots. No rain in forecast. Still looks like highs in the 90's for the next few more days.

 

[Bird]

We don't even bother to count the number of days that are 90 or more; that's just to be expected all summer. We're usually only concerned with the number of days that are 100 or more. And we've actually had a mild summer; at least for June, and I guess most of July, and while I think it was 90 or more nearly every day in August, I think we're far below the normal number of 100 and more days.

Well, you made me curious so I checked the 2007 figures for the DFW airport and we only had 17 days of 90 or more in June, 26 in July, all 31 in August, and so far every day in September. But we've only had 5 days of 100 or more and they were all in August.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

We don't even bother to count the number of days that are 90 or more; that's just to be expected all summer. We're usually only concerned with the number of days that are 100 or more. And we've actually had a mild summer; at least for June, and I guess most of July, and while I think it was 90 or more nearly every day in August, I think we're far below the normal number of 100 and more days.

Well, you made me curious so I checked the 2007 figures for the DFW airport and we only had 17 days of 90 or more in June, 26 in July, all 31 in August, and so far every day in September. But we've only had 5 days of 100 or more and they were all in August.

Well, we tied you on the number of 100+ days in August, including one 107 degree day. We get a lot of 90+ days, just usually not so many in a row.

 

[tallyho8]

Well, we tied you on the number of 100+ days in August, including one 107 degree day. We get a lot of 90+ days, just usually not so many in a row.

Strange, but down here in South Louisiana we haven't had a day over 100 degrees in years but with our high humidity we have many days where the weatherman says it feels like 110 degrees.

 

[N80]

We had at least 5 days over 100 in August. Temps in the 90's do not raise eyebrows here. People start to chatter a little when we get several days in a row greater than 100. The thing is that almost every day in August was above 90, plus we had the days in the 100's plus there has been very little rain. Spring was pretty mild and June and early July were pleasant.

More typical weather for here is high 80's low 90's and frequent afternoon thunderstorms. We just haven't had the storms.

Looking forward to fall weather....but it aint gonna get here til winter.

 

[riptides]

One cut of hay at the beginning of the season. That is it. I will not get three or even the normal "two". My two still has tracks in to from the first cut.

All the storms seem to split before they hit us.

My creek which normally runs 1-4 feet is dry in spots. Water goes from pool to pool. Makes cleaning it up easier.

Bad year..... Neighboors 300 acre corn, total loss.

-Mike Z.

 

[dooleysm]

Very similar here in southern Indiana as in Kentucky. I lost 2 dogwoods to the cold snap in April and it put the hurt on a cherry tree. In this drought I've lost a pin oak that I planted 2 March's ago, the cherry tree is on it's last leg, and another dogwood is looking very bad. My pond is waaaaay down and my floating dock is no longer floating. I haven't mowed in 6 weeks. I haven't gotten anything done outside because it's too darn hot to do anything productive. Due to the July rains the garden produced well, but it's pretty well withered up to nothing at this point. All in all, a fairly disgusting summer.

 

[dmccarty]

We have been dry and hot and hot and dry.

We set a record for August, something like the most high 90 days in a row and we had lots of 100+ days as well. Very little rain. None in the last couple of weeks and what we have gotten before that has been just a whisper.

The lake I drive over is getting real low. I have seen it lower but it won't be long before it is lower than lowest. I was hoping the tropical thing off the coast would hit us this weekend but the latest forecast makes that unlikely.

Our garden is doing ok somehow. I water once a week. Hopefully with the heat going down the Tomatoes will start setting fruit again. I saw one field of hay that just got bailed and he did not getting many bails. Another couple of fields are growing something that is thriving. I guess they got just enough rain to survive. Don't have a clue what the crop was, low plants like soybeans but very bushy/leafy. I did not see any pods/beans on them. The farmer just harvested one field this week.

We need some rain that is for sure. The ground is really dry. Last summer when it was like this I dug up a stump that went down almost three feet. Dry. Dry. Dry it was.

Soon it will be late fall, the trees will stop drinking water, and the ground will be a wet mucky mess. Hopefully I can get some big logs out of the woods before it gets to wet!

Later,
Dan

 

[Spiveyman]

Howdy, Farmwithjunk, it's not much better on the other half of the state. I'm not sure we are in quite as bad a spot as you are, but it's pretty bad. Looked like you got some rain yesterday if I'm not mistaken. I was watching enviously as the rains moved almost due north. Usually when I see a blanket of rain over you I know it's coming my way, but not yesterday. There's some hope for this weekend.

I've watched storms all summer hit a patch of KY just north of me. I've watched on weather.com, they have a high def interactive weather map where you can zoon in literally to your own house. I've watched it rain across the street and not hit my farm. It's freakish how spiratic it can be.

I said after the first cutting that I wouldn't sell any hay just yet. If there's no second cut, and it's not likely there will be, that first cut will be like gold. It's not even a matter of how much hay will cost in the winter, but whether or not there will be ANY to buy. I'm lucky in that I'm just starting my cattle operation and as of yet am way under on head/acre. That's allowed us to buy some cattle at insane low prices. Some folks are already feeding hay, it's going to be rough this winter, but whatever hay is left will be worth so much it will be crazy.

 

[riptides]

... I lost 2 dogwoods to the cold snap in April and it put the hurt on a cherry tree...

Oh, forgot about that cold SNAP.

No peaches at all this year for us. The warm weather, killer frost, saw to that.

Not one peach, a think maybe six apples on six trees. OUCH.

-Mike Z.

 

[AlanB]

Trust me, I can identify with that.

Wife business is Lawncare and landscaping............. Use to do some mowing when there was grass to mow

It is BAD right now, headline in the paper a couple days ago was that the cattle producers in our county are having problems with the cattle starving. Looks like the county is going to kick in $100K to ship in hay from Oklahoma, just to cover the shipping.

The other thing, that will continue to kill us into the future years, is that frost put a hurt on a lot of our landscape plant suppliers. My understanding is that they are not "farmers" in terms of Government insurance help and are left out to eat their losses themselves. Lose half the crop to a freeze, then half to drought, then half to heat,,,,,,,, Heck, these folks going to end up owing someone half a crop......... (poor attempt at humor I know, but what else do you do)

I am glad that my wife has a variety of skills and jobs that she does, the guys that are straight lawn care are dying in place. Some I feel for, some I can just laugh at how deep in they got first year and going to show the established cutters how to "really make money".....

 

[jimg]

AlanB: Was talking w/ my tractor dealer and he mentioned that the landscaping guys are really hurting. He feels their pain b/c they directly benefit from parts, supplies, equipment sales. It not just the farmers...

 

[schmism]

i hadnt seen more than about .75" in aug, and about the same for july.

we have had rain in the area the past 2 days.

last night when i got home we dumped the gauge as there was a nother storm rolling in. dumped .7 in the next hr it rained cats and dogs for nearly an hr.

we left to get icecream some time later after the rain passed and checked the gauge again. 1.7"

we are getting more today and storms called for the next 5 days.

perhaps they can get a last cutting in before oct.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Howdy, Farmwithjunk, it's not much better on the other half of the state. I'm not sure we are in quite as bad a spot as you are, but it's pretty bad. Looked like you got some rain yesterday if I'm not mistaken. I was watching enviously as the rains moved almost due north. Usually when I see a blanket of rain over you I know it's coming my way, but not yesterday. There's some hope for this weekend. /QUOTE]

Yeah, it rained here yesterday afternoon. I think I counted 4 drops.

I was watching the radar image as it approached. It simply vanished from the screen as it entered our county.

MAYBE...(hold your breath) maybe rain tomorrow. I'll stop on the way home and wash my truck. That usually causes it to rain. (Another attempt to laugh in the face of adversity)

 

[Oleozz]

We had enough rain in my hollow to give us a real nice sweet corn crop but it's been dry. Our county was just removed from the drought list that is provided by the state. My neighbor hauled in 7000 gallons of pig manure for my patches and that should perk things up also.
My wife teaches cooking in a small classroom without any AC and the heat has been tough on her and the kids.

 

[randy41]

been very dry here too but theres a storm forming just off the east coast and that may give us something to talk about. but its not usual for them to get this far inland. when you feel desperate you start pretending the unusual is gonna happen.

 

[scott_vt]

I sold my first cutting of hay for prices I thought were nuts. I wish I had it back. It would sell for double the price. The mowing business was going like gangbusters. It's a little slow now since nothing is growing.

OK.... How dry are you? And how has it effected your future plans? How has it effected you NOW?

Afternoon Bill,
We just took in the second cut in Ct, the hay was top quality. Actually used the Super A to tow a trailer through the fields to pick up alot of it. And my buddy used his 49 International pu to get the rest. Great Labor Day fun ! Getting back to the rain, we havent had any significant rain in 3 weeks or so and the lawns are starting to brown up a bit. Up in Vt we have done a bit better with the amount of rain, but its probablly to late to cut again because of dew conditions and drying ! All in all the NE has done fairly well in the hay dept this year !