While it may seem surprising to the general public, farmers - typically at the mercy of the elements - are seeing one of their better springs in years.

"This is a lot better than people have seen in a good number of years," said Shawn Bossard, the Cayuga County field crops specialist for the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Bossard said it has been a "moderate" spring, whereas the last five years, the season has either been really wet or dry.

Of course, most people would hardly describe the recently departed May as "moderate." In fact, according to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, it was the fourth rainiest May in the area since 1949.

Through 9 p.m. Saturday, the Auburn Water Treatment Plant had tallied 5.22 inches of rain for May, and 11.75 inches for the year thus far.

That's significantly up from last May's 4.48 inches of precipitation and the 10.67 inches that fell for the first five months of 2002.

But Bossard says it isn't always how much rain falls, but how the rain falls that counts most. Steady, intermittent rains, with few soil-eroding deluges - Memorial Day excepted - have recharged area fields with moisture.

Bossard said county farmers plant a diverse range of crops, including corn, soybean, hay, alfalfa, pure grass, winter wheat, oats, barley, and other vegetables.

But, what's good for one crop doesn't really work for others. For instance, waterlogged soil has delayed corn, potato planting in some areas.

Other crops need a drier pattern to get them into the ground.

It's not too late for soybeans and hay, Bossard said. Winter wheat, an arid crop, is having problems.

"Otherwise, it's been pretty good," he said, "No one has been complaining."

Huh? No one complaining about the weather? Since when?

Out here in the fields

A corn and soybean outfit, Donald Brothers Farms in Genoa has benefited from the season.

"It's been a spring you could work around," said Rodney Donald, who has worked the farm since 1961.

Donald said his best year, weather wise, was two years ago. It was a dry spring with timely rains.

Last year, heavy rain kept Donald out of the field for 11 days. So far, he said, this year it's only been one and a half days, at the most.

Donald said the there's been enough moisture to keep dust down, but he doesn't need any more. By his estimates, with few 75 to 80 degree days thus far this spring, it's been a bit on the cool side.

"It could be a little bit warmer," he said.

With all the talk of rain, Donald recalls an "old timer" saying: "A wet year will starve you to death. A dry year will scare you to death."

A little further north at Eldred Hay, Grain & Seed, Doug Eldred shared many of the same thoughts. He's already planted oats, barley, spring rye, and corn.

Eldred said steady rains have been good for already planted crops, but a hindrance to those trying to get seeds into the soil now.

In fact, he said, dairy farmers looking to cut hay have been thwarted by the muddy fields. He's only now getting out in the field for his soybean crop.

Eldred said if the rainy pattern persists, it may loom as a problem in coming weeks.

He considers himself fortunate to be in southern Cayuga County, noting there are significant weather variations even within the county. Of course, those variations are more extreme on a regional bases - places such as Watertown and Adams have seen more rain than Cayuga County has, he said.

He'd also like some more sunshine. "We could use a little heat," he said. "It needs to be warm for everything now."

He peeks at weather forecasts on the nightly news, but doesn't expect too much. "These weathermen are about as right as they are wrong," he said.

Big business predictions

A weather service many area farmers subscribe to is the Omaha-based Data Transmission Network, a leading agricultural forecast for 20 years.

Senior Agricultural Meteorologist Bryce Anderson said DTN assembles information to form complete package not seen on the news.

"Our subscribers have told us that a general TV news report doesn't give a real detailed look at an area," Anderson said. "It tends to focus on cities and urban areas."

Through its Web site, DTN provides local, regional and national radar systems, precipitation fronts, maps and extended forecasts updated through the day.

Most importantly, it provides a weather brief each morning, with a crop-specific look. In addition to weather and climate conditions, DTN also calculates the weather's impact on the prices crops will command at the commodities market in Chicago.

Anderson was most proud of DTN's South American weather presentation. With Brazil and Argentina producing millions of bushels of soybean and corn, their products can impact North American markets.

Yet, even with all of the high-tech equipment at his disposal, he still picks up the Farmers' Almanac, a book being read since 1816 for its "weather predicting formula" and features.

Anderson likes it for traditional and entertainment value, but doesn't put too much stock in it.

For today, June 1, incidentally, The Farmer's Almanac calls for a mild day with clear skies.

"Do people base critical decisions worth thousands of dollars on it? Probably not," Anderson said.

Donald appreciates DTN's integrated forecasting, but wishes he had omniscient understanding of weather.

"If I knew what the weather was going to do, I wouldn't be farming - I'd be on TV telling people what the weather was going to do," he said.

To reach Staff Writer Rob Varley, call 253-5311, ext. 282.