Harvest outlook not good after high heat, zero rain

As area farmers are preparing to harvest their crops, the much needed "million dollar June rain" is still missing.

The NRCS office in Colfax reported the precipitation for June to be zero. And it wasn't much better in May, when the precipitation was logged at 1.18 inches, compared to the May average of 1.8 inches. The crop year total from Oct. 1, 2014, rounds out at 15.18 inches, 2.69 inches below average for the nine-month crop span.

Larry Cochran, who farms about four miles north of Colfax, said even if the rain came, it might not be able to do much with how far ahead the crop seems to be.

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