WITH ALL THE RAIN, WHERE'S THE DROUGHT?

With all the recent heavy rain in Missouri, some people may be hesitant to talk about a drought.

But Missouri Department of Agriculture statisticians say the state "still has some catching up to do" on rain, and a drought risk exists into the summer.

"We really haven't had that much rain over the past 10 months," said David Emslie, statistician with the department's Agricultural Statistics Service in Columbia.

The state has recorded an average 20.2 inches of rain during the 10 months from July through April. But Emslie said the 30-year average for those 10 months is 31.4 inches.

"We've had about 8 inches of rain through the first four months of this year," said Emslie. "But the average is 10.2 inches. The recent rains have been a big help for the short term, but we still have a long way to go to replenish the moisture in our subsoil, which has been dry since last summer.

Cape Girardeau received 13.5 inches of moisture from January through April, well above the state average. But like other parts of the state, the area didn't receive adequate rain from July through December.

Farmers were able to work fields six days from May 1 through May 8. By the end of last week more than 95 percent of cropland had been worked compared to 77 percent normally during that time.

Topsoil moisture supplies going into this week were rated 34 percent very short and 41 percent short. Twenty-four percent was termed adequate, especially in east-central and Southeast Missouri where some flash flooding occurred over the weekend.

Crop reports indicated that 96 percent of the state's corn is planted, well over a month ahead of both 1999 and the five-year averages. Two-thirds of the crop is up, said Emslie.

Farmers are still planting soybeans, and with 41 percent of the crop in the ground planting is about three weeks ahead of averages. Most of the cotton in the Bootheel is planted.

Winter wheat has been reported about 62 percent good to excellent, with two thirds of the crop at the heading stage.

The drought is already hurting Missouri pastures, said Rob Kallenbach, University of Missouri forage extension specialist. "We've lost 25 to 50 percent of pasture production," he said.

Last year's rain ended up about 7 inches short of normal, said Kallenbach.

A lot of people think the drought has killed their pastures, and they should be replanted, said Kallenbach. But that would be premature, he said.

Tall fescue, the most commonly grown forage in Missouri, is tolerant of drought stress. It may not grow well when it is dry, but it is able to withstand droughts, he said.

Today's forecast calls for breezy conditions with a chance of showers in northern Missouri.