This has really been a wet winter. Since Dec. 1, our area has had an estimated 26 inches of rain. Creeks, ponds, streams, and rivers are filled and in many cases overflowing.
      One would think that this much rain could only be a good thing given the drought conditions over the last several years. Ironically, there is one group of people that are becoming more and more antsy with every additional drop that falls - our local farmers.
      "Our farmers should start planting corn in the next 10 to 12 days," said Mike Dollar, University of Georgia cooperative extension agent serving Evans County. "The fields are so wet that farmers can't even get into them to prep them for planting. They should be putting out fertilizer and the like right now, but they aren't able to do so."
      Dollar said it would take at least 10 days or more of dry weather before the farmers could start working. "The way the weather pattern has been, I don't know when we will get a spell like that," he said. "We are being told to expect a wetter, cooler spring than normal."
      Local area farmers aren't the only ones with fields too wet to work in. "This last week we had a meeting with our farmers to go over the latest developments regarding corn farming," he said. "We had a speaker from Athens who has been traveling around the state conducting these meetings. He said it is the same all around the state. Everywhere is saturated, and no one is working in their fields right now."
      According to Dollar, it is the corn crop that is being most affected at this time. "Farmers should be putting in bulk of their corn in early March, and it looks as if that will be behind schedule at least two weeks, if not more," he said. "It has to all be planted by a certain time, so it looks as if there won't be as much corn planted as farmers had planned."
      With an anticipated drop in corn planting, Dollar said that farmers will most likely increase their cotton production more than anything else - again depending on weather.
      "I am assuming that farmers will turn to cotton, soybeans, and possibly peanuts to replace the corn," he said. "I imagine that we will definitely see a spike in cotton. However, you can plant soybeans into June, so we will just have to wait and see."
      I asked Dollar what the farmers were going to do with all of the corn seed they had already bought? "I haven't found a farmer who has actually bought any corn seed at this time," he said. "So, that isn't a problem. All this rain though, that's another story."
      So, until next Tuesday, I bid you au revoir.
      Got a scoop for Jan? Call her at (912) 489-9463 or email her at jmoore@statesboroherald.com