DAVIDSONVILLE, MD. – Jamie Raley, President of the Maryland Farm Bureau, was recently featured in the July 11th cover story of the St. Mary’s County Times, “St. Mary’s Farmers Feel The Heat.” He discussed the drought challenges confronting Maryland farmers.

“Farmers have seen their crops wither as the sun scorches the ground.

‘I’m praying to the Good Lord that we’ll get some of that rain that’s been predicted,’ said Jamie Raley, who heads the Maryland Farm Bureau and has farm properties throughout the county. ‘It’s strange because earlier this year we had too much rain… seeds rotted in the ground.’

The ground was so sodden during the winter that corn crops, one of the most important locally, were late being planted or failed entirely.

Now, farmers are watching some of those corn crops fail for lack of moisture.

‘Some of those farmers aren’t going to make their corn crop,’ said Raley.

The demand for locally grown and raised foods such as meats, produce, and seafood have only increased, Raley said, as customers want to have better knowledge of where and how their food is produced. But the recent excessive heat is making it difficult for farmers to meet those growing demands.

Raley’s own livestock have little to feed on naturally, he said, so he has had to resort to other means.

‘I’ve started using winter hay to feed my cattle three weeks ago,’ Raley told The County Times. ‘The pasture has gone dormant; there’s nothing for the cattle to forage.’

Another local farmer, Barry Roach, who manages a farmers’ market put it succinctly.

‘If it’s not irrigated, it’s hurting,’ said Roach. ‘It’s tough; it’s not good.’”

Guy Leonard, St. Mary’s County Times