BEDFORD — First came the relentless rain. Then drought — and then, heat.
The weather has finally cooperated at least a little bit as of late. But it’s no secret Lawrence County farmers — and, indeed, those across the Midwest — are reeling.
What remains to be seen is just what’s harvested in spite of all the challenges.
Nearly 77,000 acres were planted this year in Lawrence County, according to Purdue Extension-Lawrence County Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources educator Ophelia Davis in an email interview. That’s 9,200 fewer acres than normal — a combination of planted acres that failed and those that were never planted, she said.
As a result, Lawrence has fewer failed and prevented acres than the neighboring counties of Jackson, Daviess and Greene, but more than those in Martin, Orange and Washington Counties, Davis said. Overall, Lawrence ranks about 40th highest statewide.
Those poor numbers are showing up across the United States. According to an August 12 report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ag producers said they were not able to plant crops on more than 19.4 million acres in 2019.
This marks the most prevented plant acres reported since USDA’s Farm Service Agency began releasing the report in 2007 and 17.49 million acres more than reported at this time last year.
Of those prevented plant acres, more than 73 percent were in 12 Midwestern states.
Among that grim list, Indiana ranks seventh highest, with approx. 10.7 million acres that were planted but failed.
“Agricultural producers across the country are facing significant challenges and tough decisions on their farms and ranches,” USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey said in a news release sharing the data.
For those Lawrence County farmers who were able to plant corn in late June, there is also concern about whether their crop will mature, Davis said.
But there’s not enough comparative weather/climate data from past years that even gets close to the weather experienced in early 2019 to make accurate yield predictions.
The risk of corn not maturing safely before a fall freeze involves the date of the expected fall freeze — but also depends on how warm or cool September is going to be, Davis said.
“If any local farmers planted 100-day corn before June 20, then the likelihood of it maturing before the first fall freeze is favorable, Davis said. “Similarly there are concerns for soybeans that were planted later than normal, too.”
As a result, revenues will likely be down for Lawrence County farmers this year — which could mean that some farmers will rely heavily on crop insurance this year, Davis said.
And the poor conditions and possible lower revenues don’t just impact our local farmers, Davis said. Small businesses are affected, too. “And through the ripple effect that goes hand-in-hand with everyone being reliant upon agriculture for everyday needs, this year’s planting and harvesting challenges will still be apparent in coming months as we progress into winter and next year as well,” she said.
Livestock affected, too
For those on the livestock and forage side of Lawrence County agriculture, they are encouraged to have their hay and silage tested for quality, Davis said. Hay made for the first time around July 4 because of the poor harvest conditions this spring will likely need some supplementation to most classes of livestock, particularly cattle.
“What we don’t want to see or experience is to see low body condition scores in our herds because of poor hay quality,” she said. “Most of our local beef producers rely on harvested forages as a primary feed resource during at least part of the winter-feeding period and during dry weather when the growing season reduces pasture growth.”
Overall, total tonnage and quality will be down for most hay locally this year. Traditionally, at least three cuttings of forages are able to be done in a normal year — this year getting two cuttings is a more likely scenario, Davis.
To make excellent quality hay, the forage needs to be cut at the right growth stage and packaged into a bale with the right moisture content — reducing mold formation potential — without incidence of rain damage. But spring conditions kept many in our area from getting the opportunity to make excellent quality hay during the first cutting, she said.
During the Aug. 27 Pasture Conservation Field Day Program held in southern Lawrence County, Mitchell veterinarian Jerry Rusch shared with those in attendance “some analysis of the first cutting hay made has come back equivalent to the nutritional quality of straw — which is very low/poor.”
Cows in poor nutritional status can have weaker calves at birth. In addition, cows will then need to start cycling to get bred back, Rusch said. “This could result in a poorer conception rate. Lastly, there is a nutritional cost to vaccinating an animal, too. Poor nutritional status will result in a poorer response to vaccines.”
“Imagine a cow eating these poor quality hays,” said conservation day presenter Jason Tower, who is also superintendent of the southern Indiana Purdue Ag Center in Dubois. “To get the nutrients she needs, that cow could likely have to eat a pile of hay equal in size to two, 55 gallon barrels. This is just physically impossible. Poor nutrition of the cow this winter has the potential to negatively impact that animal for the next 12 months.
“With the very poor quality hay this year, it is important for producers to properly supplement the cows based on hay quality and that cannot be done without a proper hay quality test being conducted,” Tower told the attendees.
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