Dry Weather Stressing Indiana Crops

It’s been dry across Indiana and Hoosier Ag Today Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin says, “I do not see any significant moisture threat coming in until we get into the holiday weekend. Even then, I fear that it’s going to be only parts of the state.”

That’s not a very encouraging outlook for farmers that need rain, especially in the northern part of Indiana. Check out Martin’s Indiana Farm Forecast each day in the Hoosier Ag Today podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

Marshall County farmer Charlie Houin says they’re seeing some drought stress in corn planted into sandier soils.

“It’s starting to roll a little bit. We’re firing up irrigation systems to keep those crops up and going and getting them proper moisture. The dryland corn that we have is suffering a little bit. It’s starting to roll a little bit. We’re thankful for some cloudy days to give it some rest and some cooler temperatures but we really could use some rainfall here.”

Speaking to HAT from his sprayer, Houin’s not overly concerned about his soybeans at this point since they’re really made in August, but he’s a bit concerned about their growth.

“It’s a lot of small bean plants. Just some issues with the soil being too wet when it was being planted. So, there’s some concern there about stands and will these bean plants be able to push out enough to fill in some of these voids where we have a reduction in population.”

Despite the later planting start due to excessive moisture and now the dryness that nearly every farmer in Indiana is dealing with, Houin’s main concern this growing season is about next year.

“Are we going to need to go out there and seek out chemistries now to get better pricing on chemistries? Do we need to be pricing fertilizer now for next year?”

Houin tells HAT that product availability this year didn’t impact him much. He says staying loyal to his suppliers has proven to be beneficial and likely will be even more so next year and going forward.