Farming Updates

A lot of area farmers were able to get seeds planted recently after a break in the rain. The rain has kept coming however. The latest from the Springfield News-Sun:

Rains continue to pound Clark, Champaign County farms
Persistent rains have put a damper on some Champaign and Clark County farmers and their prospects of a successful crop season.

Rains fell throughout Monday morning and into the afternoon — a common theme for most days so far this June. Storm Center 7 meteorologists predict the rain to continue throughout most of this week, with showers both Tuesday and Thursday.

The high levels of rain can be a nuisance to everyday residents but it can be catastrophic to farmers, Champaign County farmer Tom Nisonger said...

“We have got to get the weather so we can get the corn side-dressed and get the nitrogen on it,” he said. “And if we can’t do that it will reduce the yield.”

Nisonger said he does expect some crops to make it through the continued downpour, but he doesn’t expect his yield to be as big as other years...

The rain that is causing standing water in fields across Clark and Champaign County can have a devastating impact on farmers who have already planted. It could drown out what they’ve already planted and the rain could produce a haven for bacteria that could disease the crops, said Brian Harbage, a Clark County farmer.

More at the full article here. A couple weeks back there was a lull in the rainy weather to allow some area farmers to finish planting. From the News-Gazette earlier this month:

After a lot of rain, most area crops are finally in the ground
According to last week's USDA report, only 45 percent of corn and 21 percent of soybeans had been planted. At the same time last year, those percentages were 95 and 84, respectively.

Local farmers, though, have rushed to plant in small spurts. During the small pockets of dry weather, Mark Pflugmacher has stayed up planting as late as 1:30 a.m. and wakes up about 5 the next morning.

This week's dry weather finally allowed him to finish planting, about a month later than he finished a year ago...

The later growing season can have multiple pitfalls.

Days begin growing shorter after the June 21 summer solstice, meaning the plants won't quite receive maximum daylight, and the wet weather made the application of nitrogen fertilizer more difficult. The late planting season would also make an early frost devastating.

Full article here. There were some related wire service news items this past week: Some other Illinois farmers haven't been lucky enough to get their planting done in time: "Illinois Farmers Give Up On Planting After Floods, Throw Party Instead" - Reuters. The News-Gazette had an AP article about how the bailouts to help farmers don't apply to everybody, especially vegetable farmers.

WCIA had a segment on the pressure farmers are under and mental health training being offered this summer:

The optimal planting window for corn has passed. The typical deadline for soybeans is fast approaching. For the farmers who do decide to plant, they’ll be relying on hope for a decent yield.

Health professionals recognize the pressure this is putting on farmers. Carle hospital will be hosting mental health first aid classes this summer. Amy Rademaker, Carle’s rural health & farm safety program coordinator, says, “It’s very taxing. With the weather the anxiety has gone up, depression has gone up. We have tariffs that we’re now dealing with.” The classes will be available to both farmers and their families. Click this link for more information.

That full article and video segment here.