From drought conditions to hail, the weather and its effect on crops is on farmers’ minds across the state.
“You’re just seeing the stress now in the crops, things sitting kind of still, corn looking a little pineappley and the beans sitting still and not growing much.”
Don Lamb is the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and a farmer in Boone County. Speaking from his family’s farm, he says the stress of dry conditions is showing in crops across the state.
“The crop got planted in good shape. It did here on our farm, and I think that was a general consensus throughout the state, that things got put in in pretty good condition. We got a good stand, got things going, and then the rain just shut off.”
The most recent Crop Progress Report from the USDA rates both corn and soybeans at 47 percent good to excellent in Indiana.
Lamb says that over the last few days, it did rain at his farm.
“But it’s a very small amount of rain. Then we got hail, as well. Got more hail than rain, I think, right through this part of the state. It seems like, right now, we can’t quite catch a break on making the crop as good as it can be.”
While farmers can’t control the weather, Lamb encourages producers to think about aspects of the business that can be controlled, such as marketing. He says that in his first few months as ISDA director, he’s been able to travel and see how important Indiana producers are to international trade.
“Think about how important these other countries are to us, how important a country like Japan is to us when they import 62 percent of their food, and we send them about 25 percent of that 62 percent. We’re such a strong producer, and we’re very fortunate to live where we live, do what we do, and be a part of a market like we are.”
That knowledge can help producers be optimistic, Lamb says.
“It’s just one of those times again where you have to really sit back and really just be optimistic. We’ve been through these seasons before; we’ve been through a lot worse than it is right now. And to be real honest, if we’d start getting some rain, our crop still has potential to be a good crop. So, there’s no reason not to be optimistic, no reason to not hope for the best, for the future, and really just try to relax and ride it out.”
