How mucky is the muck? Very mucky, very soggy, very boggy, very wet! It just keeps raining and raining and raining and raining. In less than a month we have gotten over 9 inches of rain.

Here is a recent YNN story I was in about the situation:

http://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/top_stories/671597/hudson-valley-farmers-concerned-about-flooding/

Here is recent Tracy Baxter story from the Times Herald-Record website:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=MEDIA09

Here is the video alone:

Every other year since 2005 we have either had a flood of some sort or excessive rains.

In 2005 we had 2 “50 year floods.”
In 2007 we had a “50 year flood.”
In 2009 we had an excessively wet June and July (see my submitted written testimony which you can download via this link for details on the effects of that rains: http://www.ag.senate.gov/hearings/expanding-our-food-and-fiber-supply-through-a-strong-us-farm-policy).
In 2011 we had 2 “50 year floods.”
In 2013 we are excessively wet.

What exactly is happening to my onion crop? Essentially my onions in certain parts of my fields are drowning. They are turning yellow, they are melting down and not only not producing new leaves they are losing old foliage.

I will later today post photos.

What can I do about it? Not much. I can hook my fields in an attempt to try and dry them out. I’ve done that twice already but I can’t even think of doing that again until the ground dries out.

I can add fertilizer, particularly some form of nitrogen. I’ve done that once already.

I can add a foliar feed to my fungicide/insecticide spray package. I’ve done that once already as well.

Apart from that there is not much else I can do.

Welcome to the life of a farmer!