(New York Times) About this time last year, farmers were looking to the heavens, pleading for rain. Now, they are praying for the rain to stop. One of the worst droughts in this nation's history, a dry spell that persisted through the early part of this year, has ended with torrential rains this spring that have overwhelmed vast stretches of the country, including much of the farm belt. One result has been flooded acres that have drowned corn and soybean plants, stunted their growth or prevented them from being planted at all. With fields, dusty and dry one moment, muddy and saturated the next, farmers face a familiar fear - that their crops will not make it. "This is the worst spring I can remember in my 30 years farming," said Rob Korff, who plants 3,500 acres of corn and soybeans here in northwestern Missouri. "Just continuous rain, not having an opportunity to plant. It can still be a decent crop, but as far as a good crop or a great crop, that's not going to happen." As farmers go through the ritual of examining every weather map and every tick on the futures boards, trying to divine if and how their pocketbooks can survive another curveball from nature, they are also keeping an eye on Washington, where Congress is still bickering over the farm bill. Farmers are hoping that lawmakers will maintain taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance and other support programs that will help them get through disasters like floods and drought. Another year of mediocre crop yields could well trickle down to consumers, though agriculture experts insist that it is too early to rule out a robust harvest of corn and soybeans for this year. "If there's a shortage of corn and soybeans, and feed costs are higher," said Bill Northey, the Iowa agriculture secretary, "there's certainly a possibility that well down the road - six months or a year after that harvest - that you end up seeing higher meat prices than you would have if you'd had a full supply." Farmer in Wet Field image