I know my garden plot is not a stand in for agriculture in the US this year, but the difficulties I have faced so far this year do mirror the experience of many farmers in the northern and central parts of America.
After 4 days of drying weather with bright sun and low humidity parts of the garden are now dry enough to plant. Unfortunately, the biggest area for summer and fall plantings remains wetter than normal. I was able to till the ground, but a second or fine tillage proved impossible, just making a mess of the tilth. Now we are faced with showers this evening and several days of rain later this week. If I was trying to get a late corn crop in the ground it would probably be impossible for at least 2 more weeks. I may plant a little sweet corn, but at the rate we are accumulating rain, I will be lucky to make raccoon food by the middle of September.
Many growers in this area and in the corn belt of the mid west are facing similar deadlines. If their corn crop isn't planted soon, they will have to switch to soybeans. They face a different dilemma in that case because Cheetolini's trade war with China is killing the market for US beans. Altogether, it is not a great year to be a farmer or gardener in many areas of the country.
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