From the Fields: Hurting for rain

Another week has passed with very little rain coming to fruition. Dad cut our third-crop hay on Monday morning. The heat and high humidity made for a poor week to get hay dry. We finally received about a tenth of an inch of rain overnight Saturday into Sunday. We need much more. Today we hauled cattle to market for the Monday sale and the crops hurting for rain is a common sight along the roadways through out the area. Here’s hoping the weather forecast for about an inch and a half of rain between today and Thursday comes true.

From the sounds of thunder and a few drops on my roof as I type, I’m hopeful that some rain will fall tonight yet. It’s rather frustrating watching the storms miss us to the north and south, skipping the U.S. 20 corridor. The only good thing about lack of moisture was that the local fairs have had wonderful crowds for their events and haven’t had to cancel anything due to the weather.

Last week was National Farmers Market Week. Farmers markets are quite popular and a growing attraction in our area. The Freeport High School Agriculture Department has a Student Garden and they have been a weekly vendor at the Stephenson County Farmers Market in downtown Freeport west of the post office on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until noon. There are very few students in the Freeport School District that live on farms. It’s impressive how the program has grown the past eight to 10 years.

The students are learning about the entire process of raising produce and selling it, from choosing their seeds, starting them in the greenhouse, transplanting to the garden, caring for the plants, harvesting their produce, taking it to market and selling to the public. They also pick up skills in marketing and money management and other valuable skills that will take them far in life. If you are in the area on a Saturday morning, stop by and support ag education in our schools by chatting with the students and taking home great produce they have raised.