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CACHE COUNTY — We often hear of farmers praying for rain during dry years, but many in the northern tip of the state say they're learning that there really can be too much of a good thing.
"We actually raise better crops in a drought," farmer Darrell Jensen explained. "People will laugh at that but it's true, because we can regulate the water."
Large sections of Jensen's wheat and hay fields have large brown patches and they're sopping wet.
"It's just never quit raining," Jensen said. "There's so much rain that even the wheat that can handle more rain or more moisture is really yellow and sickly looking."
Clark Israelsen, agricultural agent at the Utah State University Extension office, says the results are largely the same across Cache Valley.
"The plants just died. They drowned, literally," Israelsen explained. "We really should start over and plow everything up and put in a new crop like corn, but it's so muddy we can't even get on the fields."
Jensen said he's forced to watch and wait. He's hoping for some dry, warm weather, but admits there's little time left to spare.
"There's nothing you can do," Jensen said. "If we get into the latter part of May, you're really better to take what you can get, because you can't go in and re-drill. The weather will turn hot and plants just don't do well when it's really hot."
Jensen estimates that his profits will likely be cut in half, while his expenses stay around the same.
The wet and muddy conditions have also caused problems for the livestock this year. Israelsen said a lot of the calves born in the wet and cold during the winter have died.
