News

A rain break needed

Missouri Bootheel farmer Jason Bean says the crops could use a break from the consistent rains.

“I’m 54-years-old and I’ve never seen a spring like this and it won’t quit. It just keeps on raining.”

The National Weather Service says year-to-date rainfall totals at Cape Girardeau, Missouri are more than 31 inches, six inches more than last year, when rain totaled 25 inches. 

Bean says rice, corn and soybeans have a good start, but there are prevent plant and failed cotton acres.

“We’ve had lots of rain, areas drowned out, hail that has taken out parts of the field, sand damage and a lot of damage. When you fail a crop, insurance comes in to estimate the crop potential. They’ll fail it and you either move on to a different crop or leave it fallow.”

The USDA says Missouri’s cotton is rated 54 percent good, a decline of three percentage points from the previous week. Soybean conditions also declined in the last week slightly, to 72 percent good to excellent.

But Missouri’s corn is 75 percent good to excellent and rice conditions are 79 percent good to excellent, improving slightly in the previous week.

Bean’s farm raises cotton, rice, corn and soybeans. He is also the chairman of the Missouri Senate Agriculture Committee.