RAINFALL -- 1998 to 2018

        This pic  updates the original post of Feb 1, 2016 under the title [OUR FARMS HISTORIC RAINFALL] to include 2016-2017 year totals along with the corresponding line graph.
        For 2018 we appear to be above average in rainfall again.  Are we experiencing a long term trend of higher than average rainfall?  Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it!  Back in 2006, you can see that we had 4 years with above average rainfall and then 2007 brought us back to reality, bouncing around, from a high in 2006 to a low in 2013, then making a steady gain to our all time high in 2017. This variation should indicate that you can't make cropping decisions on what happened last year.  It would be better to develop a diverse rotation that includes, legume, brassica, cereal cultivars; then tweek between high and low water use cultivars within those categories to address your best guess as to what the weather will bring.  It is my contention that future financial survivability will depend on our soils biological and structural health, and that means reduce tillage, increase crop diversity, and keep the soil surface covered, --as the beginning.  More rapid improvement in soil health will probably require application of compost "extracts" to add fungal, protozoa, and beneficial nematode life forms to our depleted soil, and multi-species covers to support them beyond our normal crop cultivars.  How to do this in an unstable, low moisture environment is the challenge, --but one that needs to be faced.
       As I read/listen to the news it seems that our weather is getting more unpredictable and more extreme, --I wonder how long it will be before one of those storms heavily laden with moisture will reach our area.   While admitting that my mindset has been riveted on how to minimize the loss of moisture we currently receive, it is becoming a nagging concern as to how well our farming system would hold up under a barrage of rain.  With all my comments on the amount of residue we have, and able to seed into, our most vulnerable ground (high, steep and eroded) is still exposed.  Now that we are comfortable seeding into high volume residue, we need to concentrate on better protection of vulnerable areas by replacing the cash crop with covers specific to build surface protection and soil structure for a year or two.