FRANKFORT, Ky. — Two weeks ago Kentucky farmers were looking at another dry summer, one that was affecting yields and curing conditions. But along came Tropical Storm Lee – and what a difference a week makes.

The storm made its way through the area, bringing much needed rain to most areas in Kentucky and surrounding regions. Unfortunately, it also brought rain to the northeastern part of the country and causing additional flooding in an area that had already been ravaged by Hurricane Irene.

But parts of the South were in need of the rain. Corn yields in Kentucky were already being hurt by the dry conditions and tobacco farmers were looking at a carbon copy of what they faced last year. The 2010 drought created terrible curing conditions for them, causing the crop to discolor. Producers literally paid for that during the selling season when tobacco companies offered low prices or nothing at all for the faulty leaves.

Ironically, growers began this growing season with too much moisture as spring rains caused delayed plantings and flash flooding throughout many areas in the state. Some regions saw plentiful rains continue as summer began, causing disease problems for many vegetable growers.

By August, though, parts of the state, especially in western Kentucky, were showing up on the U.S. Drought Monitor. From the beginning of August to the end, drought conditions went from nearly no coverage to more than 70 percent coverage of the state, said University of Kentucky (UK) agricultural meteorologist Mike Mathews.

Tom Priddy, another meteorologist with the UK College of Agriculture, said parts of Kentucky moved into severe drought status last month. “Preliminary numbers show that August was the 17th driest on record. Every week of August recorded below normal rainfall,” he said.

Priddy pointed to the difficult growing season producers had faced thus far, adding there have been two distinct wet periods and two distinct dry periods during the year.

“Each took their own toll on the crops and then we had the extreme heat during the second dry period. The end result is, it’s been a tough growing season,” he said. “In talking with county agents across the state, especially in the west and central sections of the state, there’s been anticipation of great crops and actually, the wheat crop ended up being pretty good – but all the weather changes have taken a toll, certainly on corn, with the impressive heat we had.”

He said the rains from Tropical Storm Lee have had some benefits. 

The state’s soybean crop was in need of rain at this point in development. Unfortunately, not all of the state got the rain, the far west being one of those – and it is the western portion of Kentucky that is home to the larger grain crops.

“I don’t think the Purchase area got much of this, or along the Ohio River,” said Priddy.

In the last 30 days, that area was shown to be abnormally dry. In those areas that did receive the precipitation, anywhere from 2-6 inches fell in its last week.

It is the peak of the hurricane season and Priddy said the tropical activity has increased greatly of late, which could prove beneficial for some areas of the country and detrimental for others.

Growing tobacco, a balancing act

By all indications, this year’s tobacco crop has looked good, for the most part. As long as moisture levels were adequate, the hotter temperatures didn’t have as much effect on tobacco as for other crops.

Last year, growers experienced a similar weather pattern, although a bit cooler, leaving a good-looking crop ruined in many cases. Many growers were afraid the same was happening this year. Bob Pearce, UK extension tobacco specialist, said the crop was headed in that same direction, something that has changed for some growers – but not everyone.

“There are places in the Lexington area that have had pretty good rainfall all year long and crops are looking really good. The tobacco crop is looking as good as it has in a couple of years,” he said.

This latest round of rain will help crops in the barn, as humidity levels will be better for curing purposes, Pearce added. But the tropical rain that lasted most of a week has hindered field operations.

“Many growers were still in the process of trying to get their tobacco out of the field,” he said.

That will create a problem getting tobacco into the barn later than normal, which affects quality, a double-edged sword situation for producers, noted Pearce.

“The humidity is good for some of this tobacco that’s curing, it will darken it and make it a better color, but some that is still in the field may be deteriorating a little bit at this point because of the weather we’ve had,” he said.

The markets have insisted upon nearly pristine tobacco crops over the last few years and extreme weather conditions during that time have left producers with less than perfect leaf. Pearce emphasized if growers can produce those quality crops in this marketing environment, they can still make money on tobacco – but if quality drops off, producers get into a price range where it’s almost not sustainable.

“It’s tough to be a tobacco grower right now,” he said.