The record-breaking summer rains messed with farmers this year, setting some off-schedule on a variety of crops.
Just days before Thanksgiving, local Santa Rosa County farmers are still harvesting "late" cotton, saying the crop was good, even though the late planting had too much rain this summer.
"It's been wet all through the summer," said Mickey Diamond, of JM Diamond Farms, "but we've still had an excellent gathering season." Diamond said the average amount picked so far in the county is about 70 percent and should bring about $0.76 cent. He said the early cotton averaged around 1,000 pound mark but the late is averaging about 750 to 800 pound mark.
Diamond said the wheat crop planted within the county this year was good with an average of 60 bushels. Pricing stayed between $5.10 to $6.00 per bushel. Wheat is planted in the fall and harvested in spring, so the rains of summer didn't pose a problem.
The peanut harvest is currently 99.9 percent harvested, said Diamond, and sold at $450 to $500 per ton. It was a good harvest this year with a particularly satisfactory yield. Soybeans were a good yield as well, he said, with 58 to 60 bushels per acre, with an average price of $12 per bushel.
With the rain this year, Diamond said, it will cost the consumer buying hay. Santa Rosa County's summer rain has hurt the hay crop and good quality will be scarce.
Jimmy Lowry, JHL Insurance Services agrees with Diamond, saying most farmers made their goal this year. He said some prices were down, but yields were good on row crops.
Diamond serves on the USDA Soil Conservancy Board, Florida National Cotton Council, and Santa Rosa County Farm Bureau Board.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Crops survive record-breaking rainfall