I can't help recalling Deuteronomy when I hear about these complaints. Agricultural "experts" attribute good yields, healthy cattle, frolicking lambs, successful harvests and steady reserves to all sorts of things. Chemicals?
(tick) Climate?
(tick) Moisture requirements of the plants grown suited to local rainfall patterns?
(tick) Efficient machinery?
(tick) Adaptation to topographical variations?
(tick) Suitable transport and logistics?
(tick) Irrigation, marketing & trade well researched?
(tick) I could go on but nowhere in any agricultural science degree will you find mention of the most important factor of all. God.
Deuteronomy 28:2-5 All these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
God also describes an agricultural sector where He is not foremost in every farmer's mind. It aligns remarkably well with the complaints we're hearing.
Deuteronomy 28:15-20 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
Rebuke: plenty of that going on. Vexation? Sometimes it seems like their eyes would pop out! Cursing – self evident, unless this is all coincidence. Christians have no need to look for fancy explanations because in The Bible we have set out for us the true facts of agriculture. Very different from university claims about animal science and crop production, is it any wonder they're complaining?
God sees where crops are sown, then God sends rain. When people think they have better information than what He's provided in The Bible, the rain stops. What agricultural scientist knows how to make it start again? They don't. The best they've come up with so far is climate change. God doesn't get a look in. So no: it's not a wonder, it's not even surprising. It's exactly what we'd expect.