Nobody will argue the rain was needed. For farmers, however, it was rain needed long ago.

Now area farmers face significant yield reductions over last year in a year where prices were up. Most will likely file insurance claims to help pay some of their bills.

If there is any bright spot, it may be in the cotton, Northampton County farmer David Grant said. “I think everybody was surprised that the cotton was better than what we thought it was going to be.”

Grant calls this season a double edged sword. “Prices were up, meaning insurance was up. The bad thing is the prices are up but you don’t have anything to sell.”

Rives Manning handles crop insurance as an independent agent. “We needed it spread out over two months ago,” he said of the rain. “Most of the crops are hurt because of a lack of rain. Our production is going to be substantially reduced.”

That will mean more claims filed, Manning said this morning. “Nobody I know of farms for insurance premiums.”

Manning believes this year’s drought, however, still doesn’t match the one of 1993. “We had beautiful looking peanut crops. The vines were fine but there was nothing underneath.”

It is fortunate farmers have crop insurance, Manning said, because in 1981 only about 12 percent of farmers were insured. Now that number exceeds 90 percent. “Prior to 1981 only federal employees could write crop policies.”

Farmer Tim Phelps believes the only thing the rains may help is late soybeans. “Cotton wise, it’s not going to help. It’s actually damaging the quality of the cotton.”

Peanuts, he said, have been severely damaged through drought and high temperatures.

While the rains will help the water table and reservoirs, it was rain farmers needed in the middle of July and first part of August. “That would have benefitted us producing good, quality crops,” Phelps said.

Corn yields have been cut, Phelps said, with about a 20 bushel yield where normally it was 100. “Even the wheat crop was reduced by drought.”

Insurance will help some, he said. “We, as farmers, that’s something required, to have insurance for years like this to help pay the bills.”

Like Grant, Phelps was optimistic about the increased cotton prices, but it becomes frustrating, “When you have no product to sell.”

The drought hindered defoliation, Phelps said, meaning two sprayings instead of one and then there was a problem with spider mites. As one farmer told him, “This was the million dollar rain. It just came too late.”

Northampton Interim Cooperative Extension Director Craig Ellison was candid in a telephone interview today. “I don’t see it helping much of anything. It will maybe fill some of the beans out and give us moisture for the winter crops.”

While some rain helps the peanut harvest, “Now we have to wait before being able to dig.”

Ellison called the corn crop a failure, with yields being about half what they normally are. “On cotton, we’re still getting yields, 300 pounds to 1,000 pounds but most are 500 to 600 pounds.”

Peanuts remain the mystery, Ellison said. “It’s hard to tell. I’m scared to make a guess. We’re going to check maturity Friday.”

Ellison said farmers need to let peanuts grow as much as they can before harvesting.

Those farmers who have filed insurance claims need to make sure stalks are not mowed until an adjuster comes by.

“We really got hit pretty hard,” Ellison said. “There are probably some folks that will argue with you. The northeastern corner got hit hard.”

Had the drought occurred years ago, this year’s situation would have been a disaster. More drought resistant plants have helped. “I think we have seen plants trying their best to produce something. The genetics are better than they have been.”