Farmers Worried About Harvest Season Because of Weather

It is the most important time of the year for farmers. Unfortunately, this harvest season, they may be in a little bit of trouble because of the weather. “We’re grateful for the moisture but it’s a really tough time to have it hitting right now, because to get potatoes out, we need a kind of a Goldie Locks scenario; Can’t be too dry or too wet,” Regional Manager from Idaho Farm Bureau Federation Zak Miller said. It’s a gloomy sight to see for most farmers in Easter Idaho. Crop after crop, surrounded by mud from excessive rain and at the worst time possible. “We’re inundated with something we really love. Just not at the right time,” Miller said. Every one of the tractors at Ray Searle’s farm land need to be occupied in order to get the job done and farmers are worried about not having enough help. “We haven’t been able to dig. The hardest part is the kids get out of school for the two weeks but we haven’t been able to use them for this week,” Farmer Ray Searle said. It is hard to dig up the potatoes because the soil is still wet. This means, it will stick around the potatoes when the tractors come up to pull them out, leaving the spuds stuck in the mud. Some students are happy about the rain because they don’t have to do much during their school break. “Not a whole lot. Just sticking around home. Being with my friends,” Student Garett Killpack said. “It’s kind of mixed emotions. I mean, you’re happy but you’re also a little mad because you don’t get to work and make money,” Student Garrett Murdoch said. Snake River Superintendent Dave Kerns said the district plans to be lenient with students because he understands the issue. “We do allow students to check out of school if they need to work more. “Sometimes we have kids leave school a week or two before harvest, in order to start, because often the harvest begins way before we even close,” Snake River Superintendent Dave Kerns said.