Rain, Rain, Go Away
May 2, 2011 
Let me start out by saying I normally love spring rain. Following the silence of your average winter snows, I find the steady pace of a springtime rainstorm on my house roof very, very relaxing.
But enough is enough already!
Like much of the Midwest, our area of Northeast Ohio has had more than enough rain this spring. Since the beginning of March, we’ve had more than five inches of rain. In a normal year, we average a little over two inches.
Of course, this is nothing compared with other parts of the country. Last week, I had the opportunity to visit several retailers based in Northern Kentucky – right on the Ohio River bordering Southern Indiana. This region has received more than 14 inches of rain in a little over one week. Naturally, virtually everywhere crop field we passed on the tour was covered in several inches or, on occasion, several feet of water. The one field I saw with corn in it had plants only an inch or so high. “That’s about as good a corn plant as I’ve seen in our area,” said one of my hosts.
Naturally, ag retailers in the area are very stressed by this situation (or in one case, directly being threatened by a rising torrent of water). “We normally have about 10 to 12 weeks to do our spring work for grower-customers,” said one retailer. “But we’ve basically lost all of March and April this year. Instead, we will have only six weeks or so to work, assuming the rain stops tomorrow. That means we will be working 24/7 when we are running, which will put additionally stress on everybody.”
At this point, I can’t imagine what this excessive rainfall will mean for the 2011 crop season or how grain prices may react in response. But so far, the year is not starting out with the vibrancy that was anticipated.
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