# Getting very dry here for May



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

It has been nearly a month since we have had a rainfall to amount of anything. It is starting to look like July/August. Yards are brown and orchard grass fields are wilting and much thinner than usual.....I haven't cut any orchard grass as I was hoping it would thicken up some more but it looks like 1st cut is going to be what is there. Oat hay has been ready to make for about a week now but was hesitant to cut much this past week because of the high chances of rain almost everyday but we never got any. The yield of the oat hay I have made so far has been good since they had enough spring moisture to get them to this point but if I don't get the hay made I don't think the grain will amount to much as they need the moisture now to fill out. My alfalfa is the only thing that looks good and isn't showing drought stress. My established alfalfa looks great and is now coming into early bloom and is about waist deep in places......hoping to cut this week. The new seeding it planted in mid April looks good as well but a little rain soon would be good for it. Alfalfa must be quite a drought tolerant plant. Monday and Tuesday are the only chances of rain in the 10 day forecast but the percentages keep dropping.


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

You and I both need some H2O.......gettin very dry here, all week had a chance.....not a drop


----------



## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

Rain has been in the forecast every day here for the last two weeks and every day in the next 10 days. We can't catch a break!


----------



## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

We have also had a dry spell here. It was nice to have a weather window to cut the cool season grasses then it remained dry.

We finally got enough today to settle the dust. Spread fertilizer yesterday and today on some hay fields.

Very dry here for this time of the year.

I hope some of you in need of rain get some from this system passing through. It has avoided us until last night.


----------



## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

How is the new bandit working out?


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

deadmoose said:


> How is the new bandit working out?


 The bandit itself hasn't had any problems but I had major problems with the tractor I had planned on running it with which wouldn't allow the bandit to function properly. Once I hooked it to a capable tractor with a healthy hydraulic system the bandit worked great. It looks like I'm going to be ending up using a neighbors tractor to bale with this summer.

I'm finding it is a challenge to maneuver with the bandit behind my baler in the small odd shaped fields I have. I'm not able to turn very sharp and it's taking a lot longer to bale with so many big turns.....I'm thinking in the small fields it might be better to drop the bales on the ground and come along with the bandit on another tractor and use the pickup attachment on the bandit. So far I'm not seeing an increase of efficiency in the number of bales I'm able to get out of the field in a day with the bandit vs a crew picking up bales but the ability to handle the bales in bundles out of the field and back at the barn is great. I was able to load a customers gooseneck trailer today with bundles in a fraction of the time it would have taken by hand and I never broke a sweat. Not to mention having to worry about finding hired help.


----------



## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

We took a chance and my son mowed 8 acres of Oats Wed. and got them up today. Some of the best looking Oats I've seen in a long time. Made 68 4' rounds. It's definitely getting dry. Somehow the corn my wife planted last Thurs. is already 3-4" tall. We've only had a 1/4" of rain this month but we had 4.88" last month. About 10 or 11 acres of Oats to go.

Is it me or does anyone else think the weather forecasters are getting worse at forecasting weather? This week was suppose to be rainy everyday but one, we got none.

This morning:




























This evening:


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I am about in the same exact boat as you Hayden......very dry....threat of large % of rain off and on for the last 10 days....and getting none. Hopefully I can really get cranking maybe middle of this week. Been a very challenging spring as it seems I have had a inordinate amount of mechanical repairs. Just one thing after another, but as my father always said...."this will pass".

I am glad to hear the fellas in the upper mid-west/ plains are getting some moisture....the folks in TX seem to be a in a peculiar pattern of either not enough or way too much moisture.

Agriculture is not for the faithless or for wimps.....you have to have a distant gaze to see the outcome of "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"...

Regards, Mike


----------



## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

SAme here no rain to talk about all spring. Last night they had substantial rain to the north and the south of us us. Rain gauge said 0.07


----------



## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

And here I am when a month ago I was worrying about moisture. Now I'm wishing it would stop raining every day.


----------



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

We were desperate for rain here in SE PA. Just got about an inch last night. A little too late, but can't hurt. Now we have on/off showers in forecast. 
I'm switching plans to my original plan of making nice hay in 1st cutting to letting my fields get very mature, then cut for mushroom hay. Will try to make pretty hay and control weeds in 2nd/3rd cutting. 
We had almost no rain for last 3-4 weeks.


----------



## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Weathermen here don't have a clue . They call for rain and we get none . I know they can't control the weather but they can't predict it either. Last year they would call for clear weather . I would cut then it would rain. It was very discouraging. It is very dry here in SC.


----------



## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Where I grew up, somewhat  , we had a weatherman named Frank Deal out of High Point, NC. You could just about about stake your life on his forecast. I moved away and he died sometime ago. He didn't have all these fancy computer models to look at. I think a lot of times he went outside and actually looked to see what was going on.

About 2 or 3 days ago they had us in rain 6 out 7 days for this week, now it's down to tomorrow 40% and a few are saying a slight chance Tues. The pastures are already drying out and cracking open, the yard has grown maybe a 1/2" since last Sat.

Well it looks like the rest of the Oats will get mowed this week. The corn looks good at 3-4" high but it's going to need rain very soon.

On the way home from church we noticed some small grain fields are already turning, won't be long the combines will be running.


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Was out and about today and saw some corn that was about 12 inches tall and had rolled up like a cigar.....doesn't look like there is much hope for it. I haven't seen anyone planting soybeans yet as they are waiting for rain which is probably smart. Alot of barley is starting to turn golden and the couple fields I stopped at looked like the heads were very plump and full of grain......it had enough early spring moisture to fill out nicely. Wheat is anywhere from just now pollinating to early milk.....still looks okay but it is going to crucial that it gets water now to fill the heads.


----------



## bluefarmer (Oct 10, 2010)

We've had 10 inches since week ago Friday. Some flooding just have to think about 2012 and the mud looks good! I've got two herds still eating a little hay, pasture is 90% Bermuda grass and the nights have been to cool for it to grow good.


----------



## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Less than a quarter inch here all spring, and nothing in the long range forecast.  This week i plan on buying all of the carryover hay i can within a 2 hour drive from our farm. Not looking good at all.


----------



## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I wish I could send y'all some rain as I received about 20''s in the last month. Rain has been and is in the forecast for weeks. Neighbors corn was hailed out and replanted. I think it will be middle of June before much hay is cut around me and that depends if rain slows down..


----------



## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Got 1 3/4" yesterday with another big one about to hit today. Yesterday the black bellied whistling ducks moved out of one of the fields to my back yard......I'm thinking maybe July.


----------



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Opposite here, was getting pretty dry the end of March thru April but once the soil temps hit an acceptable level to start planting the row crops the rain started, not getting huge amounts though, just enough to keep us out of the fields, very little ponding as the rain we get are slow ones over several days, slow enough that it all soaks in so even the hilltops are wet.


----------



## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

We had 4/10 here the other day. Was perfect timing. Just after I seeded my rye grass.


----------



## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

carcajou said:


> Less than a quarter inch here all spring, and nothing in the long range forecast.  This week i plan on buying all of the carryover hay i can within a 2 hour drive from our farm. Not looking good at all.


Did you get any snow in April? 
Hopefully some rain goes your way.


----------



## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

hog987

It's odd how different locals are totally different. You're seeding ryegrass and if weather & ground permitted I'd be cutting and baling my ryegrass down here in the Republic of Texas.


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Well we got 1 inch of needed rain today in about 15 minutes. Even though it came fast the ground soaked most of it up and I was surprised how little runoff there was. Small chance of rain tomorrow and then clear for the next 6 days so hopefully I can get most of the hay made.


----------



## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

hog987 said:


> Did you get any snow in April?
> Hopefully some rain goes your way.


Nada on the snow. thanks for the rain wishes!


----------



## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Looks like we missed out again, it all went to the south of us.


----------



## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

We've been extremely wet up here the last 4 years in a row. This last winter we didn't get much snow and it didn't rain much till now. It was actually kind of nice to be dry for awhile as there is water sitting in spots that normally are dry from those 4 years of above average moisture. Was looking like we were going to get everything seeded this year which was a nice change from the PP the last two years. That changed pretty quick as we've gotten over an inch of rain since Thursday and 4 to 6 inches of snow on top of that. Everything is a wet muddy mess. Be awhile till we get back in the field and we still don't have our corn planted yet. Oh well I guess we seeded corn in June last year and it turned out ok. lol The moisture should get the pastures and haycrop off to a good start. Always a little good with the bad.


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

IHCman, 4-6 inches of snow in mid May! Wow.....I just cannot image.


----------



## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

If they told me it snow year round in Pembina, I'd believe it.


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Today was a 20% chance so I figured I had better start cutting hay since I have 50 acres that has to be made this week into square bales. Started at a farm about 5 miles from the house because they missed the 1 inch of rain we had yesterday at the house. Cut for a couple hours and it started pouring.....oh well shouldn't hurt the hay since it was just cut.....ended up with about 1/2 inch but back home only 1/10. A friends place about 15 miles away didn't get any rain yesterday or today. Now if I can just gets this hay made this week then it can rain.


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Well we went from one extreme to another after being very dry with minimal rain until late May it has now turned into a rainforest. It has rained almost everyday for the past week. About 3 today it came a shower then the sun came out and got hot then another shower around 8. Oats are about ready to combine, need to get more beans planted, and still have some hay to make. The 10 day forecast doesn't look good.


----------



## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

FarmerCline said:


> Well we went from one extreme to another after being very dry with minimal rain until late May it has now turned into a rainforest. It has rained almost everyday for the past week. About 3 today it came a shower then the sun came out and got hot then another shower around 8. Oats are about ready to combine, need to get more beans planted, and still have some hay to make. The 10 day forecast doesn't look good.


I'll take it!


----------



## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

FarmerCline said:


> Well we went from one extreme to another after being very dry with minimal rain until late May it has now turned into a rainforest. It has rained almost everyday for the past week. About 3 today it came a shower then the sun came out and got hot then another shower around 8. Oats are about ready to combine, need to get more beans planted, and still have some hay to make. The 10 day forecast doesn't look good.


That's wild because we're not that far apart and in about 7 weeks time we've had a total of 0.85" of rain. Yesterday's rain went to the west of us, very small cell. Soybeans our son drilled in 8 or 9 days ago have not shown themselves yet and they got 0.6" of that 0.85".


----------



## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

Weatherman has been spot on here...Said it would rain today at 5pm. Only off by 30 min utes.


----------

