Ag sees mixed Hurricane Faye blessing.

Hurricanes have a very negative image to most people, due to the destructiveness and damage they leave in their path.

In the epicenter and immediate area, this certainly is the case. The inconvenience of battening down the hatches and hiding out in a safe place, as well as repairing any damage afterwards, is certainlly not to be sneezed at. The danger is real.

That said, for agriculture, hurricanes are frequently beneficial. They bring moisture to a wide area and move warm air to northern climates. In the immediate area, too much rain in too brief a period of time can be destructive, or at best, do very little good. Right at the epicenter, vegetation gets blown out and destoryed.

But in the much wider swath of regions in its path, hurricanes break droughts, fill lakes, streams and arroyos, and bring moist, warm air that allows crops to grow and mature, leading to a more bountiful harvest. Grasses grow and are rejuvenated, feeding livestock for months to come.

Hurricanes are a fact of nature, and really cannot be controlled one way or the other.

But for agriculture, in a long term perspecive, they are necessary and have some beneficial effects. Hurricane Faye will probably prove to be no different--a mixed blessing.