Oh, what a difference four-fifths of an inch of rain can make, according to Miss-Lou farmers and other agriculture experts.

That is how much rain the area received from Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon, according to the rain gauge at the Adams County Civil Defense Office.

&uot;The rain’s been extremely helpful,&uot; said Morris Ray Arthur, who farms 4,500 acres of corn, cotton and sorghum west of Ferriday, La.

&uot;The corn, especially, needed rain desperately,&uot;&160;he added. &uot;Otherwise, it would have been tremendously difficult on our (crop) yields.&uot;

Kenny Isbell, who farms cotton in Adams County, said his crop wasn’t at the critical stage — at least, not yet.

&uot;But everybody needed a good rain,&uot;&160;said Isbell. &uot;It was getting kind of dusty around here.&uot;

Adams County Agent Don Smith said the rain came at just the right time, with corn already tasseling and cotton just planted.

&uot;Those rains will make quite a difference, especially since a lot of corn and cotton and pastures are at the right stage now to benefit the most from it,&uot; Smith said.

Not only that, but the right type of rain fell, he added — light rain over a longer period of time, rather than the short-lived downpours that have hit the area sporadically in recent months.

&uot;Slow, steady rain is better because it doesn’t run off as much, which allows the ground to soak more of it in,&uot;&160;Smith said.

Still, the area is about 6.5 inches inches low on rainfall for the year to date, according to figures from the Southern Regional Climate Center at Louisiana State University.

&uot;I’d say that a good rain like this every 10 days or so for the next two months is what we really need,&uot;&160;Arthur said.

But that seems unlikely, at least for this week. Skies should be mostly sunny today and Wednesday, with highs in the high 80s, according to the National Weather Service.

There will be a slight chance of rain on Thursday and Friday.