Indiana’s planting pace is fast and furious, but the lack of rain is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for crops that were planted in March. Hoosier Ag Today has a network of farmers across the state giving us field updates, and all of them report very dry conditions. For Byran Hirsh in Gibson County, the last of rain has been both a blessing and a worry, “The rains we have had in this area have only been a few tenths of an inch. We have not been out of the fields for more than a half a day since the end of March.” He said the weather for planting has been ideal but hopes the dry spell will not last much longer.
Hirsh says it is not a serious situation yet and there is enough moisture in the soil to get the crop up and going, but warns the rains had better come soon, “We will have moisture in the soil and even a few of the field tiles are still running, so we are good for a while yet.” He told HAT the young crops can last about another 10 days without significant rains. He added that fields that have been tilled are much dryer and may be in more serious shape. As he talked with HAT, he was in his tractor planting soybeans, something he does not normally do in April, “I finished my corn about 10 days ago and started on soybeans today.”
Listen to the complete field report with Byran Hirsch, made possible by Advanced Ag Solutions.[audio:https://www.hoosieragtoday.com//wp-content/uploads//2012/04/drywrap.mp3|titles=Lack of Rain, A Blessing and a Worry]