Rainy season oh yeah

[Bluetongue]

Some of you might recall last year end of June I started a thread "how's the rainy season looking" http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/564669-hows-the-rainy-season-looking/

At the time I was looking at it from an irrigator's perspective, I was irrigating a lot in the early months of my fruit (lamyai or longan) crop and I could see all my water levels going down. In the end when the fruit trees really wanted a lot of water like to get the fruit bigger the rains came. I actually had a good season, fair to middling 6 figure gross with a respectable (but not quite liveable on profit). All the fruit came on about the same time and it was a good tree to tonnage ratio.

Enter this year with more trees, a higher price and hopes pretty high. No irrigation whatsoever for the last three months only twice in late June. Heavy rain from when we put the sodium on to make them flower until now, basically every day. Only been three days in over 4 months where no rain has fallen. The flowering was bad, I think the sodium was diluted, did remedial application and now have fruit in various stages small, big, bigger and not as much in any case as last year. Some flowers were waterlogged and bees were absent so some flowered but did not fruit. The profit is likely to be very low 6 figures, with an added 20-30k due to low pumping costs.

So from a fruit growers perspective, rain is essential but at the right times please. I know its not possible for a farmer never to complain about anything but the one about too much rain must be unusual. Here's to next year. Are other producer's happy, I hope so.

[David48]

It never rains but it pours ...

Every Farmer's requirements are different.

Absence of pollinating bees is a worry ...

[ib1b4]

It seems for the most of us that as we get older those hurdles we must jump just gert higher and higher, but that is our lot in trying to make a living from the land. And as you said it is there is always next year, We live in hope that it will improve. Cranky farmers maybe but we are optimists, otherwise why would we bother. For my self the good news is that now only 30 percent of our rice crop is under water due to the floods. Best wishes for all that are doing it tough.

[tingtong]

And here i am, raining enough generally, but my rain fed ponds still rather half empty than half full, deliberately looked from the pessimist side as dry season is approaching.

The roads are constantly muddy from the rain, however the rice field is dry enough that the grass seem to take over patches of rice.

I wont understand that while 20km from us is flooding, they cant build some canals so we could irrigate properly...one would think it would be a win-win...but just not happening.

[kickstart]

3 weeks ago we where makeing some silage,just put some cow muck on the grass cattle grazing the grass, sabi jing,jing,then all the rain we have not had over the past 3 months come in one hit,fild has been under 2 foot of water twice,stil can not drive across the field to cut some grass, cattle not been out grazing now for nealy 2 weeks, they are on "winter ration",silage and gratin,

About 1 week + I think befor they can go out.The wind is now starting to come from the north now,so the cool season could be on its way.

It has been one weird year so far weather wise,what will next year bring?,certinly not a lot of sugar cain,some crops around here are only 4 -5 high and the mills will open in 6 weeks.

I think the banks are going to have a busy time subing farmers, again. Maize farmers are not happy selling at 3.80 bart/kg, now up to 4.40 bart/kg on the cob.

A lot have got the rice combines in with maize headers,havesting maize ,after the rain they look if they are ploughing the field, not harvsting it, what the grain losses are I hate to think.

But there is allways next year.

Regs

KS