Rainfall helping crop conditions

Aug 10, 2009      The Dothan Eagle

Greg Phillips

Aug. 10, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- It wasn't long ago that Steve Brannon was praying for rain to help his crops survive.

The droughts that plagued the Wiregrass in recent years caused many problems for farmers like Brannon, who co-owns Brannon Brothers Farms in Hartford.

This year, however, things are looking up.

"Right now, the crops are looking great," said Brannon, who grows peanuts and cotton and raises cattle. "We've had two or three bad droughts. With the exception of June, we've really enjoyed moisture the whole month of July, and August started well, too. It's good to not be sitting here praying for rain. Last year, a lot of people were short on grass for the cattle to ear and hay as well, but we haven't hurt for grass in the pasture for them to eat this year, and hay has turned out well."

The high quality of the crops is directly attributable to the recent plentiful rainfall.

"Rain has been good across state," said John Dasher, state statistician for the National Agriculture Statistics Service. "Overall, farmers are feeling very optimistic."

According to a report released last week by the NASS, cotton, peanuts and soybeans, three of the dominant crops in the Wiregrass area, are all reaching high quality levels.

As of Aug. 2, 66 percent of cotton, 64 percent of peanuts and 62 percent of soybeans are listed at good or excellent condition.

The flooding in March and April has caused some delays in the crops, however.

According to Dasher, 89 percent of cotton has fully developed, compared to 98 percent at this time last year.

For peanuts, there is an even bigger gap, 46 percent so far compared to 69 percent last year.

"Right now, the biggest issue is we're sort of behind schedule," Dasher said. "All crops continue to be behind schedule because of the early rain we got. We're about halfway there, but these crops can catch up quickly with the right kind of weather."

Brannon is cautious, but confident in the rest of the growing season.

"Some crops were a little late due to the wet spring we had, but I'd rate them real good right now," he said. "We need to keep the moisture through August.

This is a real important month for us, (because) some of the later ones are gonna take some rain into September to help finish maturing. But no doubt about it, we've done a lot of catching up with the moisture in July."

Newstex ID: KRTB-0303-37094430

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