It’s been a soggy April. And it’s about to be the soggiest, according to the National Weather Service.

“Prior to today, we’re 0.27 inches away from tying the wettest April on record,” said weather service Meteorologist Fred McMullen on Friday.

What that means to local farms is highly dependent on which farmer you ask.

“It’s bad news for guys who are putting oats and spring seeding in for hay,” said former Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Rick Ebert of Derry Township. “And that puts the other crops behind schedule.”

Ebert is preparing to plant corn and soybeans, with a target date of mid-May.

“With the weather right now, the biggest concern is whether fields will dry out in time to get crops in the ground,” he said. “The sooner we can get these crops in, the more daylight hours we’ll have for crops to grow.”

April has seen the most rainfall by a wide margin in recent years. Going back to 2018, the Pittsburgh area’s highest April rainfall total was just under 4.6 inches in 2020. With more than a week to go, the region has already received 7.84 inches in 2024, according to weather service data.

“That’s 5.87 inches above the average,” McMullen said.

For Vince Mangini of Crabtree, the rain isn’t affecting planting — his barley was planted back in the fall — but fields that don’t get much chance to dry out can also pose a problem.

“We’re getting a blight from all the moisture in some spots,” Mangini said. “We have to address it now, because it can really affect the quality of the grain.”

Mangini planned to spend his Friday afternoon applying a fungicide to barley grown for the “Farm to Tap” initiative, where local farmers supply grain for local breweries. It will be harvested in late June and early July.

“Most of the crop seems pretty good,” Mangini said. “But if it (blight) gets into the heads of the barley, you can’t make beer out of it.”

Joel Milowicki, a fourth-generation farmer at Keenan Greenhill Farms in Hempfield and Mt. Pleasant Township, said he’s working with what he’s been given and finds it tough to complain about rain this time of year.

“Sometimes having a little too much is a lot better than not having enough,” he said. “You don’t want it super-dry. We have a peach and apple orchard, and when they’re budding and blooming, they really do like a fair amount of water. So that’s worked out nicely.”

In 2018, it was heavy rain continuing through the summer that hurt crop yields across the region. With some unseasonably warm weather earlier this spring, Milowicki was able to get his sweet corn planted earlier than usual.

“I’m expecting corn a little earlier this season,” he said. “For me, I find you have to just work with your ground that’s best drained and get it planted that way. I’m an opportunist like most farmers.”

For John Starr, of Starr Valley Farm in Allegheny Township, the rain is just helping to increase the smorgasbord for his 100% organic grass-fed cattle.

“We have nothing to plant,” Starr said. “This rain has delayed us somewhat in getting our cows out to pasture — you don’t want them walking around when the ground is soft and soggy — but our feeder herd went out a week ago, and the breeder herd went out this week.”

Tim Hileman of Kistaco Farm in Apollo, agreed with Starr.

“We’re a little behind in getting some of our vegetables started, but that’s about it,” Hileman said.

National Weather Service projections are calling for more dry days than wet for the remainder of April.

Milowicki said farmers are experts at rolling with the punches and adapt based on their knowledge and experience.

“As a fourth-generation farmer, we know there are just some fields we don’t go into until late spring,” he said. “The weather hasn’t put us behind. I just keep chipping away at it a little bit at a time.”

Milowicki said he’ll take wet weather over dry anytime.

“Last year we went 37 days after planting with no rain. That was really concerning,” he said. “I’m pretty happy with the rain.”

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