You may have noticed that it rained a lot this week.  This year.  Again.  That’s not news at this point, obviously.  What’s news is this article about how little of Indiana’s corn and soy fields had been planted by last week due to all the rainfall, putting farming families in real financial peril.  Indiana’s farmers are suffering another year of challenges that are more intimately familiar to our CSA members than to the average shopper.  Those of you who have been with us for several years know that this is the third sopping wet spring/summer we’ve had in a row, and that our farmers have dealt with many late plantings and slow growth periods through these years.  It has not been an easy time to be a farmer, and we have had our share of lean bags over the last couple years as we weather the highs and lows alongside our growers.

What’s so handy about small farms, though, is that they’re adaptable.  With the last couple years of rainy experience under their belts, our growers are finding ways to work with nature’s new normal and produce a bounty again.  Where the last two springs were light, this spring has been abundant.  The last two tomato seasons were behind schedule, but this year we have tomatoes in June.  Thanks to high tunnels and early tomato varieties and barefoot farmers walking muddy paths, we are eating well in the midst of a farming crisis.  Even as we enjoy our bounty this year and extend gratitude to our CSA farmers, let’s be mindful of the large farm families in our county and state who may not now have time to earn a year’s profit even if the weather pattern shifts for good this week.  Eating locally allows us to share in both the bounty and the concern, drawing us closer to our growers and to the land and weather that nourish us.

It’s certainly possible that we’ll have our own lean weeks to come this year.  This weather is a recipe for blights and low yields, and the farming right now is anything but easy.  But for now, we’ll be grateful for a bountiful spring and early summer, and we’ll extend our hope for a successful season not just in our fields, but all over the state.