By Ty Higgins, Ohio Ag Net

This may be the meanest thing I have ever said, but I hope it rains on your parade this 4^th of July. I’m not asking for a gully washer until after the parade is over, but if you walk in the parade or sit along the road to watch it; I hope you will need every square inch of that umbrella.

I’m not usually this cruel, but neither is Mother Nature.

Some farmers in Ohio haven’t seen more than a quarter of an inch of rain in almost two months.

As the crops wither down the markets are as high as the rockets’ red glare. What looks like a relatively good pineapple field is a farmer’s hope
for a prosperous year being drained like water that he’s wishing for.

This is a critical time for Ohio’s farmers and the fields they planted in the spring. As we get to that “make or break” point, you can start to hear their voices of concern get almost as high as the note of “o’er the land of the freeeeeeeeeee” in our National Anthem.

So, as we celebrate our Country’s birthday and our Independence, pray for a shower or two that many Ohio livelihoods are dependent on. Raise a
flag to Lady Liberty and a thought to Mother Nature and maybe our combined efforts will show on the combine yield monitors this fall.

It may help to wash your vehicle, too.

Happy (and rainy) 4^th of July!