In less than a month, drought conditions have steadily worsened across Indiana, causing farmers concerns over whether they’ll get enough rain to keep crop yields high come harvest.
Kevin Cox, a corn and soybean farmer in Brazil, Indiana, says that planting this year started off earlier than normal due to the dry conditions. “This was by far the best, driest conditions that I’ve ever started planting,” Cox says, “and it held that way all spring.”
While things started strong on his farm with his crops getting a good stand, Cox says the continued dryness has caused his crops to struggle. “We haven’t had much measurable rain since the third week of May,” Cox says. “Last week the temperatures were in the 90s. It’s tough on young plants. We’re seeing a lot of rolled leaves.”
As a result of the lack of precipitation, soil moisture levels have decreased sharply from the previous week according to the June 5 Crop Progress Condition report for Indiana. Topsoil and subsoil moisture supplies both rated just 1% surplus. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 25% very short, 43% short, and 31% adequate. Subsoil moisture supplies were similar at 19% very short, 39% short, and 41% adequate.
Cox also raises a small cattle herd on his farm and grows the hay to feed the cattle. He says his first cutting of hay this season was a good hay crop, but he’s concerned about the “potential risk of not getting enough rain to get another cutting.”
This isn’t the first time Cox has seen a dry growing season, though. “We had one year here a few years ago where the corn yields were in the single digits,” Cox notes. “It was devastating. We harvested every acre, and some fields had something, but some had absolutely nothing.”
While Cox says he recognizes that he can’t control Mother Nature, he shares that he’s been encouraging people to wash their cars and hang some laundry to dry to try and get it to rain. He says it seems to rain every time he washes his car, so he’s hoping something as simple as that will turn his luck around.
“You’ve got the best equipment, the latest technology, and the best hybrids,” Cox says, “but the one thing you have no control over is the weather.”
Dr. Beth Hall, director of the Indiana State Climate Office, says that, while there were some isolated storms over the past week, the precipitation they brought wasn’t enough to alleviate the dryness Indiana is experiencing.
“Warm temperatures, low humidity, and little-to-no precipitation suggest that drought conditions are either stable or worsening in most places,” Hall says.
Source: agriculture.com
Photo Credit: GettyImages-CasarsaGuru
Categories: Indiana, Crops, Corn, Soybeans, Equipment & Machinery, Weather