I'm in what's know as the Upper Plains (I'm in Phetchabun, 270km by road north of Bangkok) on a multi-generational, multi-crop farm. The lack of decent rain is worrying the family members that I know well. I think it was 2023 when they were this concerned. I recall it being over 40 ten days in a row and around 37-38 for the weeks around it. It killed off pretty much everything including many elderly. My two year-old date, fig. pomelo, durian, and mango trees just couldn't handle it. Even with night-time watering and daytime shading. With the commercial crops, they didn't fare much better after the Wet hit, with lower yields and higher costs. While some crops here are irrigated by a river and a canal that run through the property, a lot is reliant on rainfall as the article you quote suggests. This year, the first seeding of about 200 rai - sewn at the "normal"time - had to be dug in and re-sewn due to lack of rainfall. The crops adjacent to the khlong are okay but are primarily corn and sugarcane on one side and about 500 rai of rice on the other. The problem there isn't water but getting it through irrigation system two or three miles away. In the immediate area there are no bores, just dams, and the dams are low. Very low. The rice fields aren't waterlogged, and growth is slow. A neighbour's (not a family member) small holding of about five or six rai was sewn a little too early as well. It did grow some, but now is turning a slight yellow colour as there is no standing water so he may miss out on having any yield at all. The el Niño forecast is going to be hard on smaller land holdings. While this family and contractors will make it through, such is their size, it'll be a drop in scale - especially for rice - but they'll be "okay". The corn is being picked as I type, the sugarcane height seems to be on a par with other years. I'm not across the forecasts for the tobacco and cassava as that is some cousin's crop and it's miles away. In 2017 we had two full rice yields - an early planting just on Songkran due to early rains, a "normal one", and smaller, late harvest sometime in the very early part of 2018. From memory 2019 was horrific with low yield all around. I'm not positive, but the rice they grow for sale (Khao Pi - White Rice) takes three months while what they grow for themselves (Khao Hom Mali - Jasmine Rice) takes closer to four months. They don't grow Khao Neow (sticky rice) which takes, I think, even longer. I'll post some photos. They aren't pretty considering the time of year. But I have seen the rice harvester guys out on the roads (on their flat-bed transports) over the last few days so some somebody, somewhere is ready to go. I can only post photos when I "edit" this reply.
