Despite some rain, our burn ban continues

Our county has been under a burn ban since June.

We have had a few sprinkles of rain here and there, and finally had a good stead rain for about 30 hours last week, but its not enough.  My husband noticed that the rain looked like more than it really was--no water was running in the ditches, and the ponds didn't come up any.  Several in our area have ponds that are completely empty, and even after the rain, the ponds are still completely empty--not even a puddle in them.  In fact, the only puddles we had after the rain were on concrete or in the driveway where the rocks slowed the water down.  And, even those puddles were short lived.  In fact, even after the 30 hour steady rain, if you go outside and dig a hole in the ground, only the top 2 inches of dirt are even damp.  A good part of the rain water was absorbed by plant roots and ran into cracks in the ground.  We needed a lot more than we got, but are thankful for what we did it--which was just enough for the weeds to grow (not the grass-just weeds), so I will be mowing soon, which I have not done since July 1.

If you are in NW Missouri, the burn ban status can be seen here.  As of now:

Burn Bans In Effect

Clinton County – All Burning and Discharge of Fireworks is prohibited by order of the Clinton County Commission.
City of Cameron and Cameron Rural Fire Protection District – All Burning and Discharge of Fireworks is prohibited.
Plattsburg Fire Protection District, Including the City of Plattsburg: All Burning and Discharge of Fireworks is prohibited.
Caldwell County – All Burning and Discharge of fireworks is prohibited by order of the Caldwell County Commission.
Daviess County – All Burning is prohibited, the discharge of fireworks is highly discouraged.
Grundy County – All Burning and Discharge of Fireworks is prohibited.
Livingston County – All Burning and Discharge of Fireworks is prohibited.
Harrison County – All Burning is prohibited.
Gentry County – All Burning and Discharge of Fireworks prohibited effective 7/5/2012.
Atchison County – All Burning is prohibited.
Holt County – All Burning is prohibited.
Buchanan County – All burning is prohibited.
City of Osborn – Voluntary Water Use Restriction.
City of Braymer - Voluntary Water Use Restriction.
Other restrictions and bans will be added when they are issued. Please Check this page often for further information.

People are under the (wrong) impression that because we got some rain, they can burn.  As a result, there have been fires.  Some friends of ours lost their woodpile and part of their back yard while burning trash.  A house fire was started as the result of shooting off fireworks. Several fields have been lost by people throwing a cigarette out the window or farmers burning brush.  The trees are dry and easy to ignite.  Corn is dead and dry in the fields and burns easily.  A large fire in Braymer was started as the result of a lawn mower hitting a rock, creating a spark.

This corn should be a deep dark healthy green.  It should not be brown and crunchy....

What does that mean for farmers??  Well, the corn crop is gone--many farms in the area have already taken their corn in (some simply to lessen the fire hazard), other corn is brown and dead still in the field.  Depending on when the soybeans were planted, some might make it, for others who planted early due to the mild winter, they have lost their beans.  Ponds are low or gone, forcing some farmers to water their stock by well water or purchased water.  Some have even sold part of their cattle and hogs to avoid having to haul water.  Cattle who use trees for shade have lost some or all of their shade as many trees have died, depending on the tree type as some require more rain than others.  Gardens are pretty much dead or only produces a portion of what they normally would have with rain and cooler temps.

More dead, ruined corn

So,  What does that mean to you then?
Well, in turn, the grocery prices will be going up, and feed will be going up (especially the feeds that contain corn and soybeans).  Milk prices will be going up (cows eat corn and drink water).  Since the rain wasn't enough, many areas continue to have water shortages and people are fined if they water their lawn, garden, fill a pool or wash a car.  The water is needed for fire protection, drinking, cooking, and bathing.  If the drought continues, water prices will also be going up.

We lost several fruit trees.  This should be loaded with huge juicy apples.  Instead, it has a few hard tart apples.