Semi View: As harvest winds down, a look back at a soggy year

So you see it's my fault. I spoke too soon -- way too soon.

In fact, I think most farmers would agree it has been one of the most difficult crop seasons we've had in recent history. It has consisted of rain, rain and well ... more rain.

And then when we thought surely it couldn't rain anymore -- it did.

In fact, many long-time farmers I've talked to say that they don't remember a year where it stayed so wet for so long. They've said they remember more flooding, but not more big rains. I've also heard more than one farmer say they would be glad when "they turned the calendar" on 2008.

During a story I did in July when some local farmers were still struggling with soybean planting, University of Missouri extension agronomist Wayne Crook summed it up best. "Years like this take the fun out of it."

At our house, the stress of the "longest planting season ever" meant that my husband lost several pounds.

I found them.

Then, thankfully, after the crops were planted he found the pounds back. (I found more, but that's another story.)

After planting, history has told us that the yields were likely to be low.

Normally, we expect the rain to dry up in July and late planted crops to do poorly. But 2008 has been anything but normal.

Another worry was that because of wet soils, corn with poor root systems would blow over early, making harvest difficult.

Wet weather also brings on a multitude of pests and diseases.

Record high fuel, input and seed costs added to this summer's "fun."

Then the late planting dates, coupled with the unusually cool summer, also meant that harvest started later than usual. At our house we were just starting to harvest corn the same week we had finished corn harvest the previous two years.

And after we started, we still battled wet fields, slowing down harvest. Next spring, we'll face new challenges because little fall fieldwork has been accomplished.

"Mudding" the crops out mean that the ruts left will be another problem to tackle when the fields dry.

As harvest 2008 winds down, we now know the rest of the story. It wasn't perfect. Not even close.

But here's the good news: the crops turned out better than many expected or we could have hoped for. The dire predictions and fear we experienced this spring have now been replaced with sighs of relief, pleasant surprise and thoughts of, "It sure could have been worse."

Although farming in Saline County, is a only a small slice of America, this difficult spring reminds me a little bit of our country's situation right now.

Looking at the financial challenges facing the U.S. it would be very easy to be pessimistic and fear the worst.

Just like the farmer can't control the weather, much of America's future is out of the control of the average citizen. Each year, late spring or not, farmers exercise the controls they have and plant their seeds. They have faith and pray for a good outcome.

As Americans, we exercise the control we have by voting -- and this year we did that in record numbers. What a testament it is to our country that after the voting is over we accept the results. Unlike other countries, there are no riots. There are no rival militaries. Instead we move on and have faith in our Democratic process.

Already, the sun is peaking through, just like it finally did on our crops. Gas prices are dropping, the election is over (no more commercials!) and "the powers that be" are working together towards solutions for our problems.

No it's not perfect and it never will be. But sometimes when things look bleak, they turn out better than we expect.

You know what they say, "What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger."

So when we turn the calendar on 2008, the toast will be a simple one.

"Here's to being stronger."