While some rain did fall in parts of Indiana on Monday, many parts of the state remain extremely dry. One of the areas hardest hit is Southwest Indiana. Gibson County remains one of the driest areas of the state, and the crops are in desperate need of relief. Bryan Hirsch says it a do or die week for his corn crop, “It has been at least a month since we have had any meaningful rain here. We are in pretty tough shape right now.” He told HAT that many of his corn fields are already beginning to die and others cannot hold on much longer.
He said, on the better soils, the corn is holding on and is slightly better than that the crops in sandy soils or clay hilltops where, “It looks like it is starting to die.” He said some of the corn is beginning tassel, but many fields have shut down because there is just no moisture left in the soil, “I think some of the corn could hold on another week, but we are really beginning to see a lot of deterioration.” Even if the rain does come, it is likely yields have already been reduced significantly.
The dryness is also impacting the double cropped soybeans which were just planted after the wheat harvest. In many cases, the seeds have not even had enough moisture to germinate. Hirsch said soybeans that were planted earlier this spring are not as impacted by the dry conditions, but that plant development has been slowed.
Hirsch says about the only bright spot is the wheat harvest was good, “We finished our wheat harvest about a week ago, and it was very good.” He said the dry conditions this spring kept disease to a minimum and the warm weather helped the crop mature early.
The forecast is not encouraging. According to HAT meteorologist Rob Wasson, Indiana will see another stretch of dry days this week as high pressure settles over the region, “The latest Crop Moisture Index is now reflecting the lack of recent rains and classifying southwestern and northeastern areas of Indiana as abnormally dry. The US Drought Monitor has placed these same areas under a moderate drought, with Evansville farmlands under a severe drought.” The next chance of rain is not likely until next week, “Computer models are showing some chances of scattered rains and storms early next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.”
[audio:https://www.hoosieragtoday.com//wp-content/uploads//2012/06/hirshwrap.mp3|titles=Do or Die Week for Indiana Corn]Listen to the complete report with Bryan Hirsh brought to you by Advanced Ag Solutions.