Farmers face extremes this growing season

By Brandie Majeau 
There is the adage that farmers are complainers.  If you ask one, the weather may be
perfect, but the farmer down the road may say it doesn’t matter because this good weather
can’t last.  Those who do not farm may roll their eyes as they listen to coffee talk about the
plight of crop production.  Fellow agriculturalists may say it’s just the others’ personality that
makes them pessimistic, but the reality is, there are times when they may be right to grumble. 
The average citizen has felt the challenges that have arisen in 2023, and the farmer has felt
them as well. 
This spring began with a lack of moisture from a winter devoid of any significant
accumulation of snow for Thorhild County and surrounding areas.  As temperatures rose and
soil thawed and dried, seeding began with an uneasy anticipation of what the growing season
would bring.  Temperatures continued to rise, and the deficiency of ground water followed by
the lack of usual spring showers progressed into drought.  Germination was slow and as
seedlings began to emerge, faces turned to the sky in askance of when the rains would come. 
Without adequate moisture, grains will focus on survival and not produce the usual kernels in
their husks.  As the drought progresses, the overwhelming fear is complete loss, plants that
simply cannot sustain themselves anymore. 
As crops began to emerge across the county and the occasional shower lent slight
reprieve, several farms experienced loss due to a late-season frost.   Those with older hay fields
and pastures expressed concern because even if rains come later, they never seem to do well
with a season that begins with drought.  And then the rain began.  Several farmers that had
applied herbicide already found that a second growth of weeds began and were now invading
their crops.  And the rain kept coming.  Some farmers began to notice more germination of the
original seed, causing two stages of crop growth.  Rain gauges were continuously checked and
emptied.  Low areas began to fill with water. Between the torrential amounts of rain, crops
were laid flat and damaged by windstorms.  Hail blanketed several areas destroying the already
struggling plant life.  And the rains kept coming. 
As harvest season approaches, many farmers are anxiously awaiting what the next few
weeks will bring.  Crops are already rotting in the standing water that doesn’t seem to be
dissipating quickly.  What yield there may or may not be stand to question if the equipment can
even get to it.  “Complaints” that there may have been too much rain now hold merit as many
stalks take on that yellowish tinge and soil is so saturated that if moisture continues, “how are
we going to get the crops off?”  While many would shrug and say, “So what? They have crop
insurance.”  Local farmers have been expressing their frustration that they are not being
adequately covered for loss due to a bureaucratic decision that the damage or loss has not met
specific criteria. 
As with most people that are watching the progression of our economy, farmers are also
faced with rising interest rates, concerns of input costs vs income, and a severely interrupted
supply chain of shortages and rising costs, not just for parts but for equipment itself. Farmers,
like many business owners, are feeling the pinch of a lack of employees and an absence of
skilled or qualified labour such as mechanics and agricultural business staff.  So, farmers

complain…just like most of the population.  In addition to timing and weather being everything
to them, it also seems like something is always breaking down.  Once in a while we just might
have to step back with understanding and allow it.  The conversations surrounding their
livelihood may sound like complaining but it may simply be a concern they are conditioned to
feel, “What will go wrong next?”