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Area farmers struggle to get crops in

Tuesday, June 04, 2019 - Posted 8:36:50 PM

Area farmers are struggling to get their crops in this year.  The incessant rain has made the ground saturated and has prevented most farmers from getting into the fields.  The last USDA report stated that only 45% of crops have been planted in Illinois this spring compared to the five year average of 95%.  Around the Minonk area  there are a few fields with corn and soybeans just starting to pop up out of the ground but most fields lie bare with weeds coming up and some fields still have ponds.

Illinois farmers have until June 5th to keep full crop insurance coverage.  After that coverage declines 1% per day.  This conundrum has farmers in a bind between applying for full coverage before June 5th or planting later when the ground is sufficiently dried out but with less yield and coverage or simply not planting at all.

It seems obvious that grain prices will be going up based on the weather and the farmers decision on whether to plant or not.  Also, yields are expected to be much lower because of the poor planting conditions.

It has been the wettest spring anyone can remember and makes one wonder if global warming has finally affected the Midwest as well.



An area farmer works the ground on June 4 in an attempt to get his crop planted by the June 5th cutoff date for full coverage insurance.