Blog post by Tom Butler: Of Rice and Rain

It has been hard to complain too much about the harvest season, once it got started of course. We were rolling along, getting over 100 acres a day harvested, the yields were above my expectations given the conditions of the year, and no real delays brought on by weather or broken equipment. However, last night, as everyone finished for the day, I went home knowing that the run of luck was probably going to end overnight.

Sadly I was right. The forecast for rain was correct, and a shower passed through overnight. Although it wasn't much, a few tenths of an inch, it brought enough moisture to make the rice too damp to efficiently harvest and dry for at least until late afternoon today, if at all.

To make matters worse, this was the first wave of three days of unsettled weather. We're two-thirds done with our rice harvest, but we probably won't make any progress over the weekend. There are a few things to do today, get the truckloads of rice left in the field overnight hauled to the dryer, the daily service and repairs of the combines and tractors, but after that, we'll do what every other rice grower will do over the weekend, wait.

---

More about Tom: Tom Butler farms rice with his father, Steve, in Sutter and Yolo Counties. Tom is the fourth generation of his family to farm.

When he’s not on the job, the University of Nebraska graduate enjoys swimming, water polo, hunting and spending time with his family.