With weather conditions in Indiana going from one extreme to the other during this year’s growing season, there is little farmers can do right now other than keep an eye to the sky and make adjustments when necessary.
In a news release from Purdue University on Friday, Extension specialists for corn and soybeans weighed in on how the recent weather patterns have caused a sort of “patchwork” when it comes to this year’s crops. While some counties have reported dealing with heavy rain and pounding in their fields, other counties not far away are reporting that their lack of rain has led their soil to dry out.
“Many of the soybean fields experienced the same wet and cold soils as the corn did early on,” Shaun Casteel, Purdue extension soybean specialist, said in the news release. “The final string of fields were delayed in establishment and development as the weather pendulum swung to the hot and dry conditions in the first weeks of June.”
The release also stated the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture weekly progress report show that only 45 percent of Indiana’s current crop is made up of “good” and “excellent” crops, making it one of the country’s lowest of all the major grain-producing states.
According to Curt Campbell, extension educator for the Wabash County Purdue Extension Office, while the state of Indiana as a whole is struggling, Wabash County included, there were other counties that are currently facing worse outlooks than Wabash County. He added that these poorer yields would also spell trouble when it comes time to sell the produce, citing that low crop prices might make it a bit tougher for ends to meet for some farmers in Indiana.
“We’re not in great shape in Wabash County, but I think we’re in better shape than some of the others,” Campbell said. “We’re fighting the fact that we’re not getting the yield we normally get and that we’re going to have lower prices to boot so it’s going to make it more challenging.”
All hope is not lost with this year’s yield though, according to Campbell.
He explained that it is still early in the growing season and that there was still plenty of time for the weather to turn favorable and allow the crops to bounce back and offer up at least a better yield than what they are currently projecting. Regardless, Campbell emphasized that as possible as it was that this yield to recover, it was equally possible that the yield could succumb to the weather.
“What’s normal is that agriculture is not normal,” Campbell said. “(Right now) we still have so much time. It could get worse or it could get better.”
Despite the lukewarm optimism that Campbell and the state currently have about this year’s crop yield, Campbell is confident in Wabash County farmers, whom he highlighted as experienced farmers who know that agriculture is a fickle business to get into.
In the end, Campbell said he didn’t expect local farmers to take a serious hit economically due to this year’s yield.
“Farmers have to know that they have to have these bad years and work their way through them,” Campbell said. “We’re kind of cautiously hoping we see the rebound, but I don’t think we’re going to be extremely in danger in Wabash County.”