What's the Draught Situation?

 

How much rain have you had?

Draught has been a topic of discussion for months among farmers. Naturally it is an important topic since we all know that plants need these three basic elements to grow- soil, water, and sun. We have the soil, and we have the sun, but the rain has needed a lot of help this summer.

Thank goodness for irrigation, but that's not the perfect answer either.

 For my non-farmer readers, here's a simple explanation of how our irrigators work. Irrigators are anchored in our fields by a center pivot. The irrigator then moves, (powered by electricity) across the fields in a big circle. 

Now, take a look at the two corn cobs in the top photo. Both came from the same irrigated field. So why the difference? Simple geometry (the stuff you learned in high school that you thought you would never actually use). Our fields are square or rectangular and the irrigator runs in a circle, leaving the corners unwatered. The little guy was growing in a corner, whereas the full ear of corn came from a watered area. So even though the field was irrigated, several acres of corn are lost to these "dry" corners.

The fields surrounding our farm buildings are irrigated- one hundred ninety acres. Much of that corn crop looks good, like the big cob in the photo, but there is a big cost to that good looking corn! 

Our irrigators ran eleven cycles this growing season. It costs approximately $5 per acre each time the irrigators completes a cycle.

190 acres x $5 = $950 per cycle 

$950 x 11 cycles = $10,450 

And that is just the cost for the electricity to run the irrigators. Now add seed, fertilizer, maintenance and repair costs, machinery fuel, and then there's the time we put into planting and harvesting. Will we make a profit? Probably not. Will we break even? Hopefully.  

And then there is the 70 acres of farm land that is not irrigated. It looks tough...really tough.

Last week our state officials held a news conference announcing the need for assistance to farmers due to the severe draught conditions. Although we appreciate their concern and willingness to help, there is just not enough money to go around. The Governor is proposing passing $10 million in assistance, some loans, some grants. 

Watch the Governor's Draught Relief announcement here.

Food for thought-

There are approximately 2,400 dairy farmers in the state of Minnesota. 

$10,000,000 in aid divided by 2,400 dairy farmers  = $4,167 per dairy farmer

Hmmm... less than we paid for electricity on some of our crops.

And that is just figuring on dairy farmers. I know that possibly not all dairy farmers were affected by the draught, but this $10 million proposal is for ALL Minnesota farmers, not just dairy. According to the 2017 survey results collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Minnesota is home to 68,822 farms. 

This article is not meant to be a complaint. I write this as information in hopes that my readers will understand the draught situation and how it affects the farmer, the government (that wants to help, but is responsible for helping so many) and ultimately how it will affect you, the consumer.