A Call To Pray For Our Farmers

It’s a time when livelihood depends mostly on factors outside of their control. A time when weather can take out your entire crop in one day, and when everything the farmers have put into the land – from seed buying to cutting – can be lost. A time when farm families stay quiet and unseen. When most of the words said are said through prayer and petition. And, it’s a time when those outside of farm life are mostly unaware of all the farmers are facing.

This harvest is an unusual one for farmers in North Dakota and the entire upper Midwest. The reality of heavy rains early and late in the season have farmers facing the harsh reality of crops not being ready to be taken, although late in the season. And just like that, if things couldn’t get much worse, farmers are staring at a huge blow to the stomach that takes any wind they had right out of them. With most crops still in the ground, snow is in the forecast for several days.  They are forced to make difficult decisions regarding whether to take the crop before they’re ready, and lose any potential profit, or, wait, and hope the weather turns. A constant weighing of the risk.

Snow means a lot of things for an already late and wet harvest. It means our crops will be lost, and the work to get the crop out of the ground will be long and hard.  Say a prayer for farmers tonight, who do so much for our region.