Typical Crop Field Conditions in Holmes County after recent rains – photo by Shep Eubanks
Farmers in Holmes County are facing some real challenges in getting the 2014 crop planted due to excessive rainfall. Over the last two weeks, more than 21 inches of rain has fallen, bringing field preparation and planting of peanuts and cotton to a complete stand still. Optimistically it will be 7 good, sunny, drying days before field work can resume, assuming the rain stays away. At this point in the planting season, less than twenty percent of peanut acres have been planted due to these adverse conditions.
Cattle and other livestock are also being impacted by the wet weather, as pastures are also flooded and cattlemen have not been able to fertilze pastures, and where they have fertilized, the fertilizer has washed away or leached due to the excessive rains (photo 1 and 2).
Photo 1. Holmes County pasture standing in water. Courtesy of Shep Eubanks
Photo 2. Holmes County Cattle seeking dry ground due to flooding. Courtesy of Shep Eubanks
Erosion of crop fields is also significant in some areas of the county as seen in photos 3 and 4.
Photo 3. Erosion and washouts due to high rainfall. Courtesy of Shep Eubanks
Photo 4. Sheet erosion in Holmes County field. Courtesy of Shep Eubanks
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