Ferriday &8212; Caution to farmers: Should you look out your window this morning and see a man in black robes on your land, don&8217;t panic.

The figure in your fields is probably that of St. Patrick Catholic Church&8217;s Father Louis Sklar, and he&8217;s blessing your crops in celebration of St. Isidore the Farmer Day.

The patron saint of farmers, Isidore and his wife, St. Mary de la Cabeza, spent their lives working the fields and attending mass.

The 12th century farmer is said to have been such a dedicated farmer that he worked on Sundays, even after direct threats from above. When he finally consented to sit out the Sabbath, God rewarded him by sending an angel down to help make up for the lost production time.

Don&8217;t get your hopes up, though, Sklar is there to bless, not help plant, your fields.

&8220;This is for the benefit of the crops and a prayer for a bountiful year,&8221; he said.

While there is no Catholic church in Monterey, that doesn&8217;t mean farmers in the area object to an extra set of prayers.

&8220;I think it&8217;s a great gesture. I don&8217;t have a problem with it at all,&8221; farmer Kent Moreland said. &8220;Not at all.&8221;

A Baptist, Moreland said if Isidore were to give him control of the weather, he&8217;d ask for a couple of weeks without rain to give him time to get the rest of his cotton in the ground.

&8220;We&8217;re a little behind, but you can catch up real quick with all this new equipment,&8221; he said.

The consensus among other farmers interviewed was that there&8217;s no such thing as too much prayer when it comes to the crops.

&8220;It wouldn&8217;t bother me,&8221; Riley Calhoun said.

When pressed for yield comparisons between blessed and non-blessed fields, Sklar said he wasn&8217;t trying to compete with the LSU AgCenter.

&8220;We&8217;re trying to bring attention and prayer to the simplicity and wholesomeness of living out life on a farm,&8221; he said.

Sklar said he would bless fields today by appointment. The only stipulation to getting his blessing, he said, is &8220;giving me good directions.&8221;

At 5:30 p.m., Sklar will say a special mass for farmers. A dinner in the St. Patrick church hall will follow.