Kentucky farmers are struggling due to high amounts of rain

Morgantown Ky.- The rain can be pleasant for plants getting nutrients, but too much can cause problems for farmers and those selling fresh produce. Heavy rain can drown crops, cause root rot, and make farming difficult. Richard Grant from Grant’s Farm Produce says the rain has really been affecting his work.

“I’m at mother nature’s mercy when it comes to too much rain. I have no control over that whatsoever. This spring has been awful wet, and my products are hard to manage that way,” Grant said

Rain or shine, the work needs to be done.

“I can’t even get out in between the rows. It’s so muddy that I can’t even pick certain things. There are certain things that we have to pick anyway,” Grant said.

The Struttin’ Rooster farm in Butler County has also been impacted by the rain, and farmer Ryan Emimck says it can play a detrimental role on local farmers markets.

“In local farmers markets, it’s actually one where you’re going to see limited supply. People will ask why something is priced the way it is. To me, you’ve got to see as a farmer what we’re dealing with,” Emmick said.

From squash to tomatoes, all can be impacted by heavy rain.

“Some of our tomatoes, I look at our 1,000 plants we have in the ground right now, we’re going to end up losing maybe 30 of those,” Emmick said.

While the problem is out of everyone’s control, Emmick says it simply needs to stop.

“I’ve got to get things out of the ground and get new things into the ground. It’s time for it to dry up. That way when we get our new crops in the ground and harvest what we have right now so we can carry this on from August, September, and October,” Emmick said