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Beating the Heat: Farmers and Crops

Beating the Heat: Farmers and Crops


Working outside during days reaching 95 degrees can be exhausting. Farmers work in hot, cold and everything in between no matter what Mother Nature has in store.

At Walker Farms in Waterloo, farmers there watch the forecast constantly.

“We go through it every year,” said farmer Jacob Walker.

Walker says that on the hottest days, they find the coolest jobs but in the end sometimes they have no choice but to be in the heat.

“There are some things that we have choices on what we get to do when and other days we just got to be out there and it’s no different than guys that work in the weather conditions,” Walker said.

Jobs like washing equipment are an easier way of staying cool. Walker reminds people of the other jobs while working on a farm rather than just being in the field.

“What the public sees and of driving tractors and that is probably 20 percent of the job we do being out in the field,” said Walker. “There is a lot of prep that goes into just what we do out in the field then in the field work is really a minor part of our jobs.”

But what can crops do in the heat?

“Timing on the crops and when are we dry and when are we hot dry alone is bad and hot alone is bad but the combination can be really detrimental,” explained Walker.

The Walker Farms are raising corn, soybeans and wheat on a 5,000-acre farm. But when it comes down to it – farmers rely on Mother Nature and keep up with their irrigation.

 

Source: infarmbureau.org

Photo Credit: gettyimages-gabrielabertolini

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Categories: Indiana, Crops, Rural Lifestyle, Farm Safety

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