Praying for no rain? Farmers want wet weather to stop

Rain, rain go away . . .

It's not a ditty you'd expect to hear in the green fields of northern Illinois, but with Mother Nature giving them too much of a good thing this month some farmers are singing the blues.

With still two weeks to go before harvest starts in earnest and more rain forecast for much of the coming week, Dundee Township farmer Randy Gaitsch and his colleagues are getting nervous that crops yields will be smaller because of soupy soil, diseases and pests.

The owner of Randy's Vegetables stand, along Randall Road near Elgin, already has seen 6 to 7 inches of rain fall on his fields this month.

"The corn doesn't need any more rain. I know that," he said. "It was looking pretty good three weeks ago. Now, some of it is in wet soil."

South Elgin farmer Mike Kenyon's crops have soaked up 4 inches of rain this month. He considers himself lucky because be has not received as much as Gaitsch or farmers farther west in Burlington.

Plant roots need oxygen to be healthy. Water takes it away and drowns them. Also, the rain opens the door to viruses breeding in the soil. Those viruses get into plants, such as pumpkins and squash, and make them unsaleable.

Chemicals can eliminate the viruses, Gaitsch said. But for them to work, the ground has to be dry.

Other crops such as zucchini and cucumbers absorb too much moisture. They will look good in the ground, but once they are picked, they spoil quickly. The same is true for watermelon and muskmelon.

"All this (residential and commercial) building around here doesn't help," Gaitsch said. "There is nowhere for the water to go."

And there's a lot of it. Just ask other members of the chorus who are lamenting northern Illinois' wet August weather. Of the 650 properties in Kane County considered vegetable, dairy, fruit and tree farms, the tune is the same, said Steve Arnold, manager of the Kane County Farm Bureau.

"The potential for dismal yields is getting a foothold," he said. "We have another month before harvest. We need the fields to dry out. Instead of Northern Illinois, this seems like Seattle or London."

Every farmer prays for rain at the right time and right amount. The yields of corn and soy beans rise with the amount of rain. But if it stays wet and warm like it has been, insects and diseases will get to the crops first.

"It's a mixed blessing," Arnold said. "Now, take the farmers south of Effingham (Illinois) they have been dry down there and they need the rain for their crops."

Lee Goebbert said downstate farmers can have some of the 8 inches that have fallen on his Hampshire and Huntley fields. He owns Goebbert's farms and grows corn and pumpkins, among other crops.

"Our sweet corn is hard to get to because the fields are so wet," he said. "I don't know what the pumpkins will be like this year. Too soon to tell, but they can get the leaf blight."

Goebbert farms 300 acres in the western portion of Kane County. The 40 acres he farms in South Barrington aren't nearly as soaked, but they are wetter than usual.

"We definitely don't need any more rain for a while," he said. "We've had enough for one month."

If the weather stays on course for the remainder of August, we're headed for one of the top 10 wettest Augusts on record for Chicago.

But in Rockford, we could break the record, which stands at 13.55 inches.

Still, heavy rains aren't causing a stink everywhere.

Lake County Farm Bureau manager Gregory Koeppen said an average to above average crop yield is expected this season. He said the bureau hasn't received any reports about farmers expecting poor yields because of too much rain.

"It's been a phenomenal growing season here," Koeppen said.

Dan Volkers, who manages the McHenry County Farm Bureau, said farmers in his area haven't been complaining too much. "There's always a line where there's too much of a good thing. But we haven't had too many conversations about the crops out in the fields."

Tony Martin, who farms near Marengo in less populous western McHenry County, said it's not been a big deal.

"Six inches is quite a bit of rain," he said. "A lot of it just ran off that I noticed."

John Dernis, who owns Michael's Fresh Market in Naperville, said he's seen some costs rise, but now that Michigan produce is rolling in he can keep his prices down.

"They've had really good weather up there that offsets the Illinois produce," he said.