‘We have to put up with this’: Iowa farmers welcome rain despite spring planting delays
By Ophelie Jacobson
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WOODWARD, Iowa (KCCI) — A longtime Iowa farmer says he is thankful for the recent rain despite the delays it has caused in his spring planting operations.
Mike Brelsford has been farming for close to 50 years. His primary crops are corn and soybeans. He is no stranger to spring planting — he farms around 6,000 acres.
“We’ve had about three and a half inches [of rain] over the last two weeks,” Brelsford said. “We’ve been out 17 days. We just got back in today.”
Despite those delays, Brelsford said he’ll be able to finish planting in time. He said the rain has actually helped his crops this year.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Rain has come in this area. It’s come so slow, and it’s all soaked in, so we’ve never been ponded up with ponds.”
Brelsford said the moisture will be needed come late summer. He said he feels pretty fortunate with what they’ve gotten in terms of rain.
“I don’t think there’s any farmer that’s complaining that they’re not done planting because if you don’t have rain, you don’t have much potential for a crop,” Brelsford said. “We have to have rain.”
In a statement made to KCCI, president of the Iowa Farmers Union Aaron Lehman said farmers have been under a lot of stress recently:
“Considering that Iowa farmers have recently endured the longest drought since the 1950’s, the recent rains have been welcome. But now, farmers are anxious to get back in the fields to resume planting. Farmers have endured months of dry conditions, corn and soybeans prices far below the cost of production, a delayed farm bill, and now a long pause in planting. It is no wonder farmers have been feeling a lot of stress.”
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