Rainy Day Check in and Drought Update from Bel Alton, Maryland

Farm LifeFarm Update

Sep 23

Written By Brittany Hancock

Good rainy morning!! Rain check-in from our farm😬🌧️

We caught 3.5" of rain in the past day, and we're grateful for every drop

3.5 inches of rain in 24 hours, so why am I still praying for more? Rain falling on standing water in our yard

A few good soaks did not erase a devastatingly dry spring and summer in Southern Maryland

Last week Charles County, Maryland was at only 28.59 inches of rain for the year

That's 93% of normal, about 2 inches short, so this storm helped close the gap

The spring was dry enough to make us a USDA drought disaster area, and the ground doesn't bounce back in one storm

What our soil needs now is steady, soak-in rain, week after week, not one big downpour

Keep the rain prayers coming. A rainbow over the field after the storm

Who else stood and watched the rain like this? A little one watching the storm from the yard

For us growers, here's where that leaves us. As of last week, Charles County was at 28.59" for the year - about 2" behind normal for this point in the season (93% of normal). This rain should just about close that gap, at least on paper.

Fact Check Me

But one good soaking doesn't undo a dry year. This spring was dry enough that Charles County was named a USDA drought disaster area back in April, and as of mid-September the state still had Southern Maryland's rainfall on "watch."

A "normal" year (and what on God’s green earth is normal anymore?) in Southern Maryland brings somewhere around 40-46" of rain, and what the ground really needs is the steady, soak-in kind, not just the occasional downpour. If we're still seeing cracks in the ground from the drought dry out.... I fear we are still struggling (especially if you start to spiral thinking about our local water table and the other challenges it's facing)

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So keep those rain prayers coming (or whatever your vibe is). I rain dance and pray at the same time - it can't HURT anything. 🙏💃

Shameless Plug from your fb secretary: if the spring drought hit your operation, the USDA emergency loans from that April designation are open until December 10, 2026. Call the FSA office!

#SouthernMaryland #CharlesCounty #FamilyFarm #FarmLife #RainDance

Brittany Hancock

Rainy Day Check in and Drought Update from Bel Alton, Maryland

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