Mother nature has thrown East Tennessee some surprises this year, following on the heels of the 2016 drought. March 20 was officially the start of spring, but over a month ago blooms popped out all over. Then last week, temperatures dropped below freezing several nights in a row, damaging buds on fruit trees and garden flowers. Farmers are still reeling from the record-breaking drought of last summer and into the fall months. On May 31, 2016, the Weather Service reported 1.6 inches of rainfall – the last rainfall over an inch until late fall. “Farmers were forced to feed supplemental hay almost three months earlier than usual,” recalled UT Extension Agent Steven Huff. “Some folks ran out of hay. They had to decide between going out of state to buy hay or selling off cows.” Farmer Josh Longmire has 25 head of cattle. He and other farmers fed some supplemental hay mid-summer – several months earlier than normal. He was fortunate to have enough hay on hand, unlike other farmers he knows. He mows hay for a farmer who typically gets 174 bales from a large field and got only 8 bales in 2016. Precipitation for East Tennessee averages 42 to 45 inches per year. By the end of October 2016, the year-to-date rainfall was only 33 inches. Looking ahead to this year, farmers are asking if the county can expect average rainfall for the area. “The…