Ross Seed Co.Gardening Made Easy

The drought of 2012 has everyone worried. With a large percentage of corn and soybean crops being declared of poor quality, the losses to the farming industry will be incalculable. Economists are speculating on how this is going to impact prices and to what degree for retail products. It is easy to see that prices will go up. It is tough to look at the prospect of earning less as a farmer and then having to pay higher prices for what we buy on top of that. Everyone is hoping for steady amounts of rainfall for the next crops.

We certainly can do without the quick downpours that wash away topsoil. We need that water to get to the roots and stay there. However, with all of our technology and big machinery, we cannot make it rain. Read the rest of this entry »

I am really wondering what the long term impact of this drought shall be. Corn production is going to be at 17 year low and it is probably going to be just as bad for other staple crops in the afflicted areas of the United States. How many farms will end up being insolvent at the end of this, assuming of course that it does end in the near term. Obviously if your farm is not effected by the drought it is going to help you. I hate to admit this, but I really needed the jump in prices that it has caused. The yield on our farm is done by a small amount, but we have gotten sufficient rain and we have some pump irrigation from the river.

The bump in prices is going to help me get out from under some of my debts. It is not something I wished for, but I certainly need the money. I suppose some farmers will actually get a large benefit because they were completely unaffected by the drought and got a normal yield. I can not expect them to give that back any more than I shall. If the shoe were on the other foot I might be going out of the farming business after five generations on this land. We have crop insurance obviously, but I do not think it would be enough to handle this sort of hit. Looking at the photos on the internet it appears that many of these fields are not really worth harvesting. The costs of getting the crop out of the field and out to market might be more than you would make selling your corn. Some of those guys might just as well plow it under as try to harvest it and get it to market.