Some Farmers Welcome Wet Late Spring
While some growers were frustrated by the wet weather which delayed planting by almost a month, others welcomed the delay and the moisture. Suzanne Wendel and her husband farm in Franklin County where, like most of the state, it has been a wet spring, “It has been very wet, but most — but not all — of the corn has been planted.” She told HAT that the warm temperatures over the past few weeks has helped the crops get off to a good start. In addition to corn and soybeans, they also operate an agri-tourism business which includes a corn maze. She said this spring has been ideal for corn maze planting, “We don’t plant the corn maze until early June and use a long season hybrid so the crop will stay greener longer into the fall.” She said last year the late-planted maze field was not harvested until November but was their highest yielding field.
The Wendels also grow pumpkins, ornamental gourds, flowers, and horticulture crops which are all crops that like a cool, wet, spring, “I just planted my mums, and they really like this cool wet weather.” She said they will not plant their pumpkins until late June. Wendel is optimistic about this growing season saying, with adequate rains, they will have very good crops this year. Each fall the Wendels open their farm for school tours and host special educational activities to help people understand how farmers provide food and how the farm business works.
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