Hows The Rainy Season Looking?

[tim armstrong]

Has just started to rain on a daily basis at Nakhon Sawan but not heavy

[patongphil]

If we don't get any substantial rain in the next week or so my fish will have to grow legs. In Maha Sarakham province about 50km south of city.

[Rsquared]

Well, we still have not had what you would call substantial rain........we get daily drizzles, that's about it.

Our concern is; my wife recently went to a village meeting and what they were discussing was that at the moment farms around the area get irrigation water supplied by the local big dam at a cost of 5 baht/rai/month....it used to be free until 12 months ago.

Now, if the dam doesn't receive any substantial rainfall in the next 3 months, this irrigation supply will be cut-off. I guess until next year's wet season if it fills up again.

We are in the process of getting our land ready to plant palm oil saplings, but now we are contemplating making our own dam on the property to subsidise the town dams supply should they shut it off.

BTW we are in a village called Pong Krating about 60km west by south of the city of Ratchaburi.

[loong]

Been raining here, North of Khon Kaen for about 40 hours, practically non-stop. Nice to see a decent amount of rain, we really needed it. Nice steady rain, ideal a the soil is able to soak it up no run-off

[patongphil]

Still effectively nothing in the way of rain here 50km south of Maha Sarakham. Rice just about had it and has become cow fodder as nothing else around.

Pretty bleak for the fish ponds and the main reservoirs only mud flats.

[soidog2]

Nang Rong - Nong Ki area, no real rain in many month.

In the fields without irrigation; rice planted in June, dead or dying.

[Gary A]

The sugar cane fields were dry and cracking. The small rice paddies were dry and the some of the rice was starting to yellow. Yesterday we had light rain and today more light rain. No runoff at all but enough to keep the crops growing. No rain at the moment but it looks like we will get some more today and tomorrow.

[RedBullHorn]

Chiang Rai - It's August !!! 31 day this month 31 day of rain and i'm smiling...ear to ear Thank you thank you thank you !

(All ponds are fully stocked... all ready to make a great harvest just before the vegetarian festival and national school holidays)

Edited August 9, 2012 by RedBullHorn

[AA1]

Nang Rong - Nong Ki area, no real rain in many month.

In the fields without irrigation; rice planted in June, dead or dying.

Soidog 2.

We are further along highway 24 from you in Surin Province and like you have had no meaningful rain for ages.

I, each morning, take my dog for a walk through rubber plantations and rice fields and, although the rubber farmers around here are happy people, I feel so sorry for many of those rice farmers. Okay if near the reservoir but elsewhere the rice has turned from green, to yellow and now going brown. A pathetic sight.

Yesterday - shock - we woke up to a drizzle. Maybe it will turn into rain. No such luck. It just carried on drizzling for the rest of the morning and then stopped. By mid afternoon, the ground was as dry as it was before, having had the dampness sucked back into the air as soon as it fell.

Being an annual single crop area, I imagine like around you. this is going to hurt these poor farmers badly as they are already at the bottom of the pile and also probably also in hoc to the millers for loans for seed, fertilisers, etc.. Even if we get good rain now, being well into August, we are getting to be too late to plough in and resow the rice fields again for this year.

Maybe it's time for the government to actually help the rice farmers rather than the millers.

As various of you know, my wife is a rubber farmer and her rice land is all let to needy people in the village for a minimal rent but sadly they are the ones who are going to suffer most (even if, as she well expects to happen, she needs to give some a rent free year).

Being a rice farmer in Isaan is NOT an occupation I would choose.

Rain PLEASE come soon.

[Bluetongue]

Pong Nam Ron. Well a month or so of some decent falls, I have only irrigated three times since the start of July. But we haven't had a belter yet like Isaan Aussie that fills the dams and the creek in one go like in previous years. The corn crops are going OK now but it is thin on the ground and the price is rising. Still a lot of activity with orchardists putting in dams and bores and entrepreneurs resurrecting trucks of prehistoric vintage to deliver water. Today has seen two showers one for about half an hour, long enough for me to put off irrigating a couple more days.

[loong]

I wonder that if the government had spent the billions they have wasted on rice pledging schemes on reservoirs and canals for irrigation instead, how much of an impact it would make?

Whatever, it would enable many farmers to increase yields, year after year, possibly enough to actually be competitive in the world market. A small fee charged to the farmers would fund expanding the amount of reservoirs.

It may also help in times of flooding.

Edited August 10, 2012 by loong

[T_Dog]

Up here north of Chiang Mai it finally feels like the rainy season is getting started. Had our first week of regular daily one or two hour downpours. Two weeks ago the ground was still powder dry but today's digging was in very moist soil so it is soaking in too.

[patongphil]

I pulled out my rain making machine/BBQ yesterday but to no avail. Some 10 odd years in Phuket it never failed to produce rain whenever I had friends around for a BBQ but here in Sarakham sweet nothing!!!

[David006]

no rain a week or so now..<deleted> hot... spending money on beer and rellies and step kids we ain't made ( right Jim?)...they are cutting rubber occasionally but they say "too hot, very busy..dead people party, marriage party, become monk party etc etc."..

Problem worries me is that finally someone turned up to spray the weeds and grass ...now there is all this dried dead <deleted> waiting to burn!!!

Bugger it..... we are going to Ko Lanta and imma getting some beach time/swimming in and kill a few more flats of beer..life is toooo short!!

[Mosha]

Relatively dry wet seasaon in Ranong, about 2.5m to date this year.

[Gary A]

A friend of mine always called where we live the high desert. Fifty kilometers south of Loei city is indeed dry. Yesterday the pond went down about a meter because of flooding the rice paddies. The Kubota got a workout. It is cloudy nearly every day, but no rain.

[Rsquared]

We just had our first "good" downpour yesterday in months........lasted all of 4 minutes 27 seconds, then the sun was out blazing again.

Still nothing substantial here.

Still waiting.

[khwaibah]

Drought forces Surin farmers to plant rice in holes

SURIN, 19 August 2012 (NNT) - Drought has hit 17 districts in Surin province. Jasmine rice paddies have been adversely affected by the long gap between rainfalls, which has lasted over 2 months. The rice saplings, mostly jasmine rice, which were planted using the conventional sowing method, have seen a negative impact from the lack of rainfall. At total of 1.5 million rai of jasmine rice plantations throughout Surin have been affected.

Royal rainmakers have quickly worked to seed clouds to produce rain over the province. Farmers of Mai Dong Yen village, in the Phanon Dong Rak district of Surin, have been unable to wait for rain, and have turned to planting rice in holes they have dug into the ground. The holes are made by pushing a pointed stick into the earth. Once the holes are made, rice saplings are placed in them, and the holes are filled in with soil.

Farmers have noted that the drought this year is extremely severe.

News ID: 255508190001 NNT

[necronx99]

In Nahkon Sawon it's been cloudy everyday for weeks.

Only one decent thunderstorm, got about an hours worth, but very localized.

All the corn and cane farmers are chalking this current crop up as a loss.

[patongphil]

Driving into the local town this morning we saw the weed eaters/grass cutters busy in the rice fields cutting the tops off the rice for the cows - things are real bad.

Off to the wat tomorrow with BIG tambon - hope it works.

[jubby]

It's quite Scary the difference in rainfall here in Thailand.

up in Chiang Rai we've had probably a month of solid rain. The Rivers are high but not at flood levels but the land is well and truly saturated, not seen this for a few years.

[Gary A]

Here in southern Loei province, I'd have to ask, "what rainy season"?

[jamescollister]

Here been having our normal daily rains, but dryer than usual. a few days ago it came down and small ponds which had been mostly dry were full in 10 hours. Think there is another big rain on it's way, so better stock up, as the bridges will be down for a week . Can't live without beer and if the power goes as well, normal, better have whiskey. Jim

[scotbeve]

You want rain move here near mae hong son heavy rain every day never stops had rain in abundance for nearly 5 weeks now ,lucky to see 4-5 hours dry

And from Chiang Dao all the way up to Mae Ai it's been raining on/off for a few months!!! No rubber tapping at our plantations!!! Ugh... The upside is that there are no floods to speak of....

[scotbeve]

In this little corner, Lao/Campo border, big rains have yet to come. We get good falls nearly everyday, but as of yet no flooding rains. Great weather for the rubber trees. Jim

Too much rain (no floods tho') in Mae Ai..... no tapping here Jim.

[jamescollister]

In this little corner, Lao/Campo border, big rains have yet to come. We get good falls nearly everyday, but as of yet no flooding rains. Great weather for the rubber trees. Jim

Too much rain (no floods tho') in Mae Ai..... no tapping here Jim.

Live in rubber tree paradise, so sad about the price. Jim

[scotbeve]

I wonder that if the government had spent the billions they have wasted on rice pledging schemes on reservoirs and canals for irrigation instead, how much of an impact it would make?

Whatever, it would enable many farmers to increase yields, year after year, possibly enough to actually be competitive in the world market. A small fee charged to the farmers would fund expanding the amount of reservoirs.

It may also help in times of flooding.

The last administration had canceled a waterway / major water pipelines from upper central Thailand to Issarn.....Expensive? Yes, but a possibility....

[scotbeve]

In this little corner, Lao/Campo border, big rains have yet to come. We get good falls nearly everyday, but as of yet no flooding rains. Great weather for the rubber trees. Jim

Too much rain (no floods tho') in Mae Ai..... no tapping here Jim.

Live in rubber tree paradise, so sad about the price. Jim

Stock it up Jim.... Still, the prices are better than they were 7-8 years ago... There was a meeting in Indo for the Asean Rubber traders.... Let's see what comes out of that!

Edited August 21, 2012 by scotbeve

[Mosha]

In this little corner, Lao/Campo border, big rains have yet to come. We get good falls nearly everyday, but as of yet no flooding rains. Great weather for the rubber trees. Jim

Too much rain (no floods tho') in Mae Ai..... no tapping here Jim.

Live in rubber tree paradise, so sad about the price. Jim

No tapping for a week down in Ranong.

[scotbeve]

In this little corner, Lao/Campo border, big rains have yet to come. We get good falls nearly everyday, but as of yet no flooding rains. Great weather for the rubber trees. Jim

Too much rain (no floods tho') in Mae Ai..... no tapping here Jim.

Live in rubber tree paradise, so sad about the price. Jim

No tapping for a week down in Ranong.

Our trees have had a (almost) 7 month rest!!! More rain to come as well. Prices are really low. See what becomes of this regional meeting...