Consider the case of Shiawassee County farmer Tom Braid. In April, Braid was praying for rain to quench his moisture-starved fields. The Durand resident recalls his farm receiving only six-tenths of an inch of rain during the whole month of April. Then the rains came in May and kept coming.

"We were powder dry at our place. Then the rains came, but now it's too much," said Braid, who reported receiving 10.8 inches of rain for the month thus far - more than half of which came during the past weekend. "It's the worst wet spring I can remember," he said.

Unlike some, the majority of Braid's corn crop, 1,050 acres, is in the ground. He still has 100 acres of corn left to plant, and he anticipates he'll have to replant some drowned areas. Braid has 175 acres of soybeans planted and 1,000 acres still to go. He also expects to do some replanting in his soybean acreage.

When he'll be able to get into his fields again is the concern.

"Even if it stopped raining today, it'd be at least two weeks before everything dried out," said Braid, adding that some areas could take as long as three weeks to dry. In general, earlier planting usually results in greater yields at harvest time.

On top of planting concerns, now is the time when Braid should be cutting hay for his dairy cattle, but rain-soaked fields have prevented that as well. Hay is most nutritious for the cows when cut at the bud stage, so Braid may have to alter his feed ration plan if hay cutting is delayed further.

Braid's also spotted a bit of powder mildew in his wheat fields, but the weather has prevented fungicide spraying as well.

"Everything's hurting," he summed up.

The Kent County Farm Bureau isn't taking any chances with what the weather might bring. This morning, the county Farm Bureau chartered a small airplane to give the director for U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow's West Michigan office a bird's eye view of affected farmland in the county. Following the tour, the director heard from individual farmers and agribusiness dealers. The Farm Bureau hopes the aerial tour and group discussion will give Stabenow's aide a good perspective should federal disaster assistance be sought down the road.

"It's ugly," said Kent County Farm Bureau President Jim May of conditions in West Michigan. "We've had wet springs before but not like this. Instead of planting crops, you're planting tractors."

May, who has a combination of livestock, cash crops and fruit in Sparta, said his farm has had 10 inches of rain over the last three weeks, and his clay soil isn't soaking up the water fast enough.

The weather has been especially hard on apple trees, which are susceptible to the devastating fire blight disease in damp, humid and windy weather. May said hail has also ripped apple buds and leaves, creating doorways for fire blight infection. In addition, every day of cloud cover negatively affects apple set, and recently planted apple trees will likely be lost if their roots are underwater.

"We hope and pray that we have a long, hot summer," said May.

In Cheboygan County, however, dairy producer Carl Reimann isn't worried as much about the rain as the cool weather northern Michigan has been experiencing.

Thus far, his Cheboygan farm has only received 5.25 inches of rain since May 10. Temperatures, though, were just beginning to reach around 50 degrees after being stuck near 40 degrees for some time. Some heat, he said, would help dry the wet ground.

With cool, wet weather widespread across the state but individually a mixed bag of severity, Michigan Farm Bureau Commodity and Marketing Department Manager Bob Boehm says "a few weeks of sunshine and normal temperatures would go a long way to getting things back on track."

"It's only May 27, and there's a lot of the growing season left to come," he said. "It could dry up and be fine, or it could turn to drought. We just don't know at this point."

That's why Boehm said it's hard to predict whether cash crop farmers will switch to shorter-season crop varieties or opt for an entirely different crop altogether once the weather clears.

"What we do know is that there's a lot of pent-up field work that needs to be done," he said.

Soon, corn and soybean producers who have crop insurance to protect against weather and other problems will be forced to make important business decisions.

Corn must be planted by June 5 and soybeans by June 15 in order for farmers to receive 100 percent insurance coverage. Farmers can continue to plant both crops for up to 25 days after these so-called prevented planting dates, but they lose 1 percent of their coverage each day thereafter.

Farmers are advised to consult with their insurance agent regarding their individual insurance and planting options.

Knowing how to best utilize these additional land use tools once they become available is key for future farmland preservation efforts. The Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance (MFCA) will prepare community leaders, stakeholder groups and individuals for the road ahead at its Fourth Annual Statewide Land Use Conference. This year's theme is "Advancing Farmland Protection Efforts in Michigan."

MFCA, Michigan's farmland preservation organization affiliated with the Michigan Farm Bureau, will hold the one-day conference on Aug. 31 at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Lansing. The conference will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is $60 for MFCA members and $95 for non-members. The cost includes continental breakfast, lunch and conference materials. Pre-registration is required by Aug. 9. Participants may register by calling or e-mailing Joyelle Baker, MFCA program and membership assistant, at (517) 391-5047 or jbaker@mfcaonline.com.

"This year's MFCA Statewide Land Use Conference will have something for everyone," said MFCA Executive Director Jim Fuerstenau. "As county Farm Bureaus from across the state form Land Use Committees, these groups need support and education to initiate these opportunities locally. In addition, landowners need more information on how these voluntary programs can affect their profitability and estate planning. The MFCA Statewide Land Use Conference is designed to meet these needs.

"From technical support on various land use tools, to helping local communities build strategies for financial support toward farmland preservation programs, to assisting the landowner on his or her decisions, this conference is one people won't want to miss."

A snapshot of conference speakers includes Rich Harlow of the Michigan Department of Agriculture; Dr. Adelaja Adesoji, Michigan State University Hannah Professor in land use policy; Andy Richards, attorney with Smith Bovill; and Chuck Eckenstahler, a certified planner and director of the Public Consulting Team. Featured sessions include running a successful fund-raising campaign, TDR implementation, conserving family lands, estate planning with conservation easements, state tax incentives for land preservation, local government process and policy initiatives in Michigan to name a few.

In addition to the conference, a workshop specifically geared toward county Farm Bureau Land Use Committees will be held Aug. 30 from 6-9:30 p.m., also at the Radisson Hotel in Lansing. This workshop, which includes dinner, will focus on idea sharing, networking and will include a panel discussion with key state land use stakeholders.

For participants interested in attending both the conference and workshop, cost for the two events is $85 for MFCA members and $120 for non-members.

"County Farm Bureau Land Use Committee members should seriously consider participating in the workshop to more effectively advance their efforts at the local level," said Denise Lamphier, MFCA field support specialist and event coordinator. "As our Land Use Action Network (LUAN) grows to 36 Land Use Committees, there is much work happening in local communities to advance farmland preservation efforts. By attending this conference, new and established committees can get ideas on successful projects others have worked on."

For more information about either event, contact MFCA at (800) 292-2680, ext. 6550.

In the first interactive event of its kind in the nation, more than 125 grocer executives worked with emergency response leaders and local, state and federal government officials to test their food security plans and procedures in case of an intentional food contamination at a grocery store. Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) staff members and representatives from other agricultural organizations also participated to better understand how production agriculture fits into the overall security plan to protect the nation's food supply from "farm to fork."

Participants worked through four aspects of a grocery-related security situation during the tabletop exercise, moving through the threat, incident, response and recovery. The one-day exercise, conducted at the Michigan State University (MSU) Kellogg Center, helped reveal some misconceptions about government and industry procedures. It also provided grocers and those in the food industry with ideas on improved response and recovery during a food safety or terrorist situation.

Linda Gobler, president of the Michigan Grocers Association which was a key event sponsor and organizer, looks forward to sharing the information gleaned from this exercise with other grocers around the country.

"In the post-September 11 world, the food industry is now on the front lines of the war on terrorism," said Gobler. "This one-day exercise has already improved communications and relations 100 percent."

Bob Boehm, MFB Commodity and Marketing Department manager, agreed. "This exercise was an excellent opportunity to improve communication and understanding among the food industry segments and government agencies," he said. "Through this simulated event, procedures were tested and streamlined to enhance response in the event of a real threat to the nation's food supply."

In addition to the Michigan Grocers Association, exercise sponsors included the Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center, Food Marketing Institute, Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), Michigan Department of Community Health, Michigan State Police, MSU, National Restaurant Association, United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association and the Uriah Group, a security consulting company.

"Cross-agency and organization partnerships and activities like this are instrumental in further enhancing the state's efforts to ensure safe and secure food supply," said MDA Director Dan Wyant. "In fact, because of this cooperative approach, Michigan is truly emerging as a national leader in proactively working to address and prevent potential threats to our food and agricultural infrastructure."

Added Boehm: "Michigan farmers take their role of providing safe, nutritious food very seriously and will continue to be vigilant in guarding against accidental as well as deliberate threats to the safety of the food they produce. We commend the groups involved and appreciate the opportunity to participate, since we all have a vested interest in marketing the safest food supply in the world."

An after-action report will be prepared within the next 60 days, according to the Michigan Grocers Association, so that the participants can use the lessons learned to improve their ability to coordinate an effective response should an actual attack ever occur.

The Michigan Grocers Association expects that other states will want to hold exercises using the model debuted for the grocery industry in Michigan, as leaders implement the presidential directive for the development of national policy to protect the food system against terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergency situations.

Meanwhile, MSU is the lead on a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center for Food Security.

"One of the most important aspects of food security prevention and protection - whether for industry, government or academia - is education. That's one of the goals of the new DHS center, and one of the main goals of the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center," said Ed Mather, deputy director of the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center at MSU. Mather helped organize the Michigan exercise after participating in a similar event in Maryland several months ago with the National Restaurant Association there.

In all, 18 watersheds located within 22 states, covering 127 counties were chosen. These watersheds are home to more than 1.5 million people and 273,000 farms.

"The selection of the East St. Joseph Watershed in this first sign-up represents a balance of resource needs, historic stewardship, potential producer eligibility, and the technology and adequate staff needed to successfully implement the program," said Michigan State Conservationist Ron Williams of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

In order to implement CSP this fiscal year, the NRCS will immediately train employees within the priority watersheds on the basics of the program; detailed training will occur once the interim final rule is published in early summer.

"A sign-up announcement will be published along with the interim final rule that will detail the specific program requirements within the priority watersheds," Williams explained.

Nationally, the fiscal year 2004 CSP budget of $41.4 million will allow NRCS to write 3,000 to 5,000 contracts. The contracts will be determined in a national selection process that will be described in the sign-up notice.

According to Williams, all CSP applications that meet the sign-up criteria will be placed in an enrollment category and considered regardless of available funding.

"Agricultural producers in the East St. Joseph Watershed have been protecting our soil and water resources for years," Williams said. "Now they will be rewarded for that stewardship, and will become the models for future CSP participants. It's a bright new day for conservation, and I'm delighted we're a part of this exciting first sign-up."

CSP is a voluntary program that supports ongoing conservation stewardship of agricultural working lands and enhances the condition of America's natural resources. Additional information on CSP is available online at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp.

Contacts: Megan Wheaton, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2026 or Scott Piggott, ext. 2021

The mini-grant comes from the foundation's White-Reinhardt Fund for Education.

"At Farm Bureau we're constantly trying to develop innovative and creative ways to teach the public about where their food comes from, and school children are a great place to start," said Deb Schmucker, MFB Promotion and Education Department manager. "While this may only be a mini-grant, we've got big plans for how it can contribute to our other popular Agriculture in the Classroom products."

Existing lesson plans can be downloaded from the MFB Promotion and Education Web site at www.miagclassroom.org.

Contact: Deb Schmucker at (800) 292-2680, ext. 3213.

The heavy rains are reflected in the new percentages for soil moisture in Table 1. Topsoil for the week was rated as having a 77 percent surplus, up 18 percent from the previous week. The surplus rate for subsoil moisture climbed 56 percent from the prior week to top out at 50 percent. Meanwhile, topsoil was void of any very short or short ratings, whereas those ratings totaled 2 percent a week ago. The very short rating for subsoil moisture was also at zero, while the short rating was just 1 percent. Last week, these ratings for subsoil moisture levels totaled 11 percent.

Across the state, farmers said they were behind on their spring work and noted it would take a bit of time after this latest round of precipitation before they were able to resume tillage and planting activities. Highlights of the week's crop progress are captured in Table 2.

This information is available from the Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service. A free subscription can be established at http://www.nass.usda.gov/sub-form.htm.

Table 1: Soil moisture for week ending 5/23/04
Stratum	Very Short	Short	Adequate	Surplus
Topsoil	0%	0%	23%	77%
Subsoil	0%	1%	49%	50%

Table 2: Crop Progress for week ending 5/23/04
Crop	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5yr. Avg.
All hay, first cutting	2%	0%	3%	3%
Asparagus, harvested	48%	31%	52%	53%
Barley, Planted	90%	80%	82%	89%
Corn, planted	71%	65%	61%	75%
Corn, emerged	55%	36%	25%	43%
Potatoes, planted	63%	54%	N/A	N/A
Soybeans, planted	36%	33%	27%	45%
Soybeans, emerged	26%	16%	6%	20%

According to USDA, 19,000 farmers nationwide sell their produce exclusively through farmers markets. These small farm operators, with less than $250,000 in annual receipts, benefit the most from these markets because they are able to cut out the middleman, recoup their costs, sell their products for five times as much, cut down on production acres and diversify their crops.

Consumers can benefit from farmers markets by having direct access to local products and face-to-face time with the farmers who produce the goods, serving as a bridge between urban and rural communities. In addition, USDA statistics show 25 percent of markets participate in programs that aid local food banks in the distribution of food to needy families.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture publishes the Farm Market and U-Pick Directory. This is the department's most popular publication and is available and searchable online at www.michigan.gov/mda. This directory lists more than 260 farmers markets, u-pick operations and other agricultural tourism businesses all across the state. Listings include phone numbers, driving directions, operational hours and the available products and services.