Last year provided a bumper crop of rainfall in Selma-Dallas County, and that rain lead to high yields in farm crops throughout the region.

Roger McNeil, hydrologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Calera, said measurements taken at various spots across Dallas County last year averaged between 60 and 70 inches of rain, well above the annual average.

”This was, of course, well above normal for the region,” McNeil said. “Rainfall numbers in Dallas County are normally 10 -15 below that in a regular year.”

McNeil said that higher-than-average numbers were common across the state last year, with the largest departures from the norm coming in counties in east central Alabama.

“It was an above normal year, generally speaking, across the state,” McNeil said. “We saw measurements in Talladega and Calhoun counties that were 20 to 25 inches above normal.”

The wet weather meant full harvests for area farmers, and Tim Wood, General Manager of the Central Alabama Farmer’s Co-Op, said steady rains throughout the year meant the majority of the crops planted brought back good returns.

“Overall, all of the yields were good,” Wood said. “It caused a little problem with corn early just because it kept the farmers from getting the corn in as early as we would like.”

Wood said later yields of soy beans, peanuts and cotton performed very well across the region and the state, but said the constant wet conditions did impact the growth of hay.

“The only problem with cattle was some of the people had problems getting good quality hay on the ground,” Wood said. “So, the quality of hay might be down a little bit but we’ve still got a lot of it.”

McNeil said rainfall throughout the year followed the normal trend, with the spring months being the wettest and the driest periods coming in the fall when storms and weather fronts are more rare.Wood said last year’s crop yields were undoubtedly aided by the rainfall, and that excess water would go on to help future

“Simply put, we can raise crops a whole lot better when it’s wet than when it’s too dry, that’s the bottom line,” Wood said. “And we’ve been pretty fortunate the last few years. The early rains did hurt some of the early crops, but this is going to be great for replenishing ground water, and all around it was just excellent and good for agriculture.”