Recent rains fell at just about the worst possible time for Jeff Griffiths, 42, of Lothian.

It was too late for the drought-stricken corn he had harvested, but early enough to strand his soybeans in the field.

This has left him hoping for the exact same thing that has made this year rotten for farmers: dry weather.

"That's a double-edged sword," Griffiths said. "I don't think any of us want it to stop raining, but we'd like to see a dry spot between the rains so the ground would dry up."

That is just the type of year it has been, and his luck seems to be continuing.

The federal government is offering drought relief to farmers in 21 Maryland counties, including Anne Arundel. They are encouraged to call the Farm Service Agency about emergency loans, cost-sharing programs and other assistance.

It is too early to tell how many Anne Arundel County farmers will receive assistance or how much help they can expect.

However, Griffiths said, his harvest - about 30 percent smaller - probably will not qualify him for the programs, which means another lean year. "We'll have to tighten our belt a bit, but farmers are used to that," he said. "You just don't spend on anything that's not a necessity. You cut back on your vacations. You don't go out to eat dinner quite as often."

Lean times abound.

"It was absolutely a devastating year for agriculture," said Jeffrey Opel, Anne Arundel County Soil Conservation District manager.

Despite recent rains, precipitation as of Friday remained down 4.9 inches this year from normal levels in Anne Arundel County, said Steve Zubrick, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va.

Corn and soybean yields in Maryland are expected to be the lowest since at least 1993, drastically cutting farmers' earnings, said David Knopf, a statistician for the Maryland Agriculture Statistics Service.

"It's fortunate that the year [Maryland] did have a drought is a year other areas had a drought to drive up prices," Knopf said. "That's the only saving grace we see this year."

The U.S. Geological Survey lists 13 states as suffering from drought conditions. The government is offering help to farmers in at least 36 states.

Oscar Grimes, 78, of Davidsonville is another area farmer hit by the drought.

The cattle that graze on the green grass in his pasture have no idea how he has worked to fill their troughs during the drought.

After the usually arid weather dried up the watering hole on his land for the first time in at least 18 years, he called about having a well dug - only to be put on a waiting list.

So he drove each morning from mid-May through most of October to a nearby nursery to fill a 500-gallon tank, then hauled it back to keep his cows hydrated.

Now the well is pumping water from 400 feet below his land and, he hopes, financial assistance from the government is on the way.