Complaining of harassment at the hands of government agencies, many farmers had to wait for days at the mandis before their wet heaps of paddy were dry enough to be procured.

The weather played spoilsport again just when paddy in many parts of the state was due for harvesting; hailstorms and strong winds flattened the standing crop. The worst-hit were late-sown finer varieties such as basmati, which suffered maximum damage. The procured paddy lying in mandis was also damaged by unexpected heavy showers. The agitated farmers had forced the government agencies to relax specifications for procurement and the crisis ended only after the Punjab and Haryana got the Centre to allow relaxation in permissible limits of discolouration and damaged grains following protests by rice millers.

This year's wheat season too started with field reports of relatively warm and dry winter spell, reducing tillering (number of spikes per plant). There were reports of some areas witnessing early maturity and yellow rust. Temperatures in December were over two degrees above normal, while January was warmer by four to five degrees. Amid fears that such a variation will reflect on the overall productivity and per acre yield of wheat this year, weather wreaked havoc again and rains lashed the region just when the crop was due for harvesting.