More than 40 years of farming will change a man. Teach him to watch the clouds and pray for rain. Teach him to watch the rain and pray it stops before he”s standing knee-deep in a muddy field, staring at too much of a good thing. Too much sun will burn the corn right on the stalk. A pleasant coolness in the breeze — like the summer respite we”re receiving this week — can push harvest time into November, where a week of cool, damp conditions can turn the snow-white cotton to blackened mush.
Glenn Mast knows the vagaries of the weather. Knows enough to be slightly concerned about this week”s nighttime temperatures, which have been dropping into unseasonably low 50s. But he also knows enough to not be too concerned just yet. The summer was dry, but thanks to irrigation, his corn crop grew green and tall, standing like rows of centurions along Highway 792 in southern Lowndes County.
Back in June, area farmers were concerned about the skimpy rainfall, but now, as they harvest the corn, most — like Mast — fared better than expected. Area agronomy agent Charlie Stokes, with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said though yields — like the rainfall itself — were scattered, most farmers finished the season in the 70 to 120 bushel range. Some, particularly in Noxubee County and the town of Caledonia, were as low as 30-50 bushels per acre.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Stokes said. “The rain was so sporadic. The yields were just all over the board. The fortunate thing is these guys are getting a pretty good market price. That always helps. They”ll tell you they would have liked to have gotten rain two weeks ago, but there”s nothing you can do about the weather.”
Mast, who planted 2,900 acres of corn, irrigated about a third of his crop and reaped 140 to 150 bushels per acre in the irrigated areas. If he hadn”t irrigated, the growing season would have been “a real disaster” — probably bringing less than 100 bushels per acre. Even good market prices can”t help a poor yield.
In Caledonia, Doug Holliman hasn”t harvested his crop yet, but he was out walking the fields Wednesday afternoon, and what he saw was encouraging. He”s hoping to bring in at least 100 bushels per acre. At 220 acres, that wouldn”t be too bad.
About 80 percent of the corn crop has been harvested, and now farmers are turning their attention to cotton, Stokes said. While the weekend rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee isn”t expected to have much of an effect, the cold front which moved through the state afterward might.
The main problem is not so much the temperatures; they”re not low enough. The problem is that the cotton bolls like sunny, hot days, which encourage them to spring open. Farmers have just started defoliating — spraying a chemical which causes the leaves to drop from the plants and encourages the bolls to open — but cotton planted in June is not yet mature enough for the bolls to open, so the lack of heat will push its maturity date into the cool, wet days of November.
Two years ago, Mast walked into his cotton field and almost vomited. The stench — and the sight — was overwhelming. A beautiful, bountiful crop was ruined right before harvest time. Six weeks of almost constant rain had rotted it all. He watched 1,600 pounds of cotton become 700 pounds, and there was nothing he could do about it.
“It”s part of farming,” Mast said Wednesday afternoon. “You hope the good years pull you through the bad years.”
Mast takes it all in stride, saying there”s nothing else he”d rather do. He likes watching the crops grow. It”s tricky sometimes, but he likes “the game.” A good crop is rewarding. A poor crop spurs him to try to do better the next year.
His father was a farmer. His grandfather was a farmer. His two nephews work in the fields with him every day, and his son, Rodney Mast, helps him run Black Prairie Tractor Supply in Columbus.
Still, he”s not sure whether his grandson will be a farmer. It remains to be seen. Farming has become so expensive, it”s hard for a young man to start out on his own. But maybe. Maybe.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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