An old proverb says “April showers bring May flowers,” but the heavy rains that have swept across Northwest Florida for the last two weeks have also delayed local farmers from planting some of their most important crops.

Copeland Griswold, an eighth generation farmer in Chumuckla, said his soil has been inundated with excess moisture since April 29’s downpour, preventing tractors from placing cottonseed and peanut seeds. Every farm is different, but 82-year-old Copeland’s ideal deadline for planting cotton is May 25 and June 1 for peanuts.

It’s not just personal preference, Griswold said he needs to get those seeds in the ground soon or he could be reaping the consequences this fall.

“You’re just really risking frost on cotton and peanuts if you plant after that day,” he said.

That frost could put a huge dent in crop yields, according to Travis Kelley, director of the Farm Service Agency in Santa Rosa County.

“When the (plant’s) vine itself dies, you have no way of harvesting the peanuts under the ground,” he said. “Same thing with cotton,” the bolls became as hard as rock and can’t be opened.

The delays in planting could also become costly for farmers because of crop insurance stipulations, Kelley said.

“It’s a crucial time right now. Peanuts — according to crop insurance — have to be planted by the fifth of June. They’ve got till the 15th (of June) for their cotton,” he said. “They give you a yield reduction for every day you plant after the fifth (and 15th). Once you get to 10 days beyond that period, you don’t have insurance.”

And here’s the kicker: The brief break in rain last week wasn’t long enough to get the seeds planted. Many local farmers, Griswold included, are still waiting for their soil to dry.

“If we could get 10 days of clear, 85 or 90 degree weather without any rain we could start catching up,” Griswold said. “I wouldn’t say we would be caught up, but we could start catching up.”

Topsoil erosion from April’s flooding has also been a huge problem, Kelley said, noting gullies that have been cut across farm fields. The erosion damage, which can cost thousands to repair, has been so significant that the Farm Service Agency has requested emergency funding for farmers.

“We had a lot of farmers take a big hit last year,” Kelley said, referencing a late-summer rainy season that plagued crops with diseases and reduced yields. “If things don’t change this year we got some that are at risk of not being able to pay their production loans back and not be able to farm again.”

It’s a potentially grim outlook, but Griswold had a seemingly stout resolve about the growing season.

“The old saying is you’ll certainly make more crop with rain than you will with drought,” he said. “I ain’t shutting her down and running. I’ll tell you that.”

Source - http://www.pnj.com/