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A cornfield is pictured Wednesday along Midway Road south of Murray. Although crops have fared differently in different parts of Calloway County, one thing every farmer can agree on right now is that rain is badly needed.
A cornfield is pictured Wednesday along Midway Road south of Murray. Although crops have fared differently in different parts of Calloway County, one thing every farmer can agree on right now is that rain is badly needed.
MURRAY – After three weeks with no measurable rainfall, Calloway County farmers seem to be waiting with bated breath to see if the coming days will bring some much-needed moisture to their crops.
Justin Holland, Murray’s official government weather observer for the National Weather Service’s Paducah office, said Calloway County is currently classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor as D0, which means it is abnormally dry and approaching a drought. However, the NWS may reclassify today, which Holland said could put Calloway at D1, or moderate drought.
“As of Wednesday, we are at 22 straight days with no measurable rainfall here in Murray,” Holland said. “The last day we had measurable rain was June 7. We have had a total of 1.47 inches of rain for the month of June, and the average for June is 4.06 inches, so we are about 2.59 inches below normal for an average June.”
Holland said Murray has had 34 inches of rain so far in 2022, which is actually 9 inches above normal for this point in the year.
“There is a decent chance of some scattered storms probably Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Holland said. “It does not look like anything widespread, but there will be a few scattered storms on radar during the afternoon and evening time frame. There is no way of knowing who will get wet, much like last weekend. Some areas across Kentucky and Tennessee will get some good rain, but a lot of areas will probably stay dry.”
Tony Brannon, dean of Murray State University’s Hutson School of Agriculture, said the lack of rainfall has been bad enough, but the recent heat waves have also done substantial damage to crops in this area.
“I always say, ‘Regardless of how much rain we have, we are always 10 days away from a drought,’ so going without rain for 20 days has drastically impacted our crops, especially since we’ve had so many 95-100-degree days,” Brannon said. “A lot of corn is at the critical tasseling stage and may not fully recover even if it rains soon. Pastures are drying up and livestock farmers are beginning to think about having to feed hay. We always look for the bright side, and the bright side is that wheat harvest proceeded without rain delays and soybean planting went quickly. Now we just need rain for emergence and growth.”
While Calloway County may still be ranked at D0, Brannon said technicalities really don’t matter at this point because, essentially, a drought is a drought. Also, he said, no two farmers are affected in exactly the same way.
“They say all politics are local; a drought can be the same way,” Brannon said. “Really, what the National Weather Service says is irrelevant to a local farmer. If the crops are hurting, it’s a drought – and they are hurting and have been for a couple of weeks. Since the rain is always spotted, one farm may be in a drought and the neighboring farm may be better depending on rain and soil type and water holding capacity. For instance, some parts of the county had rain last Sunday and others didn’t. Driving around, it’s easy to see the difference.”
Even with the current dire circumstances, not all hope is lost, Brannon said.
“To a farmer, it’s really never too late for a rain,” Brannon said. “This is a very critical period for our corn crop, but soybeans are just hanging on – or, in the case of double crop, just emerging. They are very resilient and can hang on until flowering. In past years, we have had late rains that really salvaged the bean crop. Sometimes we have gotten hurricane remnants in the fall that helped break the drought. It’s really unfortunate that one person’s disaster can sometimes be another’s blessing.”
Brannon added that a few farmers that are able have been watering their crops, but irrigation systems aren’t cheap to operate, adding to the financial impact.
“Many tobacco farmers install drip irrigation to try to save this high dollar crop, but I heard (Tuesday that) the supply of drip irrigation tape is now scarce,” Brannon said. “So it’s really been the worst of times; in addition to no rain, we’ve been besieged with record temperatures, record input costs, double fuel costs, supply issues and the grain markets have declined in recent weeks.
“All in all, at this point, all farmers can do is pray and keep in contact with their insurance companies and bankers. Most farmers are eternal optimists; they will just add 2022 to the 1978, 1988, 2012, 2018 list of years and say, ‘There is always next year.’”
Sharon Furches with Furches Farms said they are currently growing corn and soybeans, and the operation recently completed its wheat harvest.
“It’s just really dry, and of course, some of the beans are the latest thing that we planted, so some of them have just barely come up,” Furches said. “They really need some water to get a good growth spurt. The corn will be getting ready here in just a couple of weeks or so to pollinate, and the temperature is very important for that, and of course, having some rain as well. That’s a key thing coming up, so that Fourth of July time is when we’re looking for a really good rain.”
Chase Futrell of Futrell Farms Inc. grows tobacco and several row crops in addition to livestock. He said he has been watering “around the clock” for the last three weeks, and although he is glad he is able to do that, it comes with substantial additional costs, especially for fuel and labor.
“(Farmers who) are not able to water will be disking their crop up,” Futrell said. “Tobacco doesn’t require rain as often, but it requires close to the same amount. We haven’t had water in close to three weeks. Even when we’re getting rain (it needs to be enough). If it rained 2 inches tonight and it stays close to 90 for a week (it’s still a problem). (The crops) need about an inch a week. That’s to survive and thrive, but just to merely survive, they could get by with less.”
Scott Lowe of Lowe Farms said he has also been irrigating for the last two weeks, and he said the first three days of this week have been a blessing because there was some relief from the heat.
“That’s kind of what’s been the hardest on this tobacco – the heat,” Lowe said. “Tobacco is obviously a dry weather crop, but it’s like any crop; it needs a drink every now and then. Even with the moisture that we had in the ground two weeks ago, when you start getting 100-degree temps, it leaves really quick and, and these temps have actually hit us earlier this year than they normally do. Normally, we start seeing these temps in July and August. At the stage the tobacco is right now, it doesn’t have the root system that it does in July and August, so (the plant) can’t get down there to the moisture that’s actually still in the ground.”
While it’s too late for a bumper crop this year, Lowe is hopeful that if he can keep his crops watered, he could at least have an average one.
Holland said the closest comparison to this year’s weather is June 2012, when Murray only had 1.48 inches of rain for the entire month. As of Wednesday, Murray was at 1.47 inches for the month. He said it is unusual to get a widespread, organized rain in the summer unless a tropical storm system moves up to Kentucky from the Gulf of Mexico, but those aren’t typically predicted until a couple of days before an event. The other bad news, Holland said, is that temperatures are expected to rise to the low 90s again next week, and rain is unlikely after the weekend.
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