It’s a tale of two extremes in the weather conditions and crops between parts of Iowa and Illinois.
In northwestern Iowa and further north, creeks and rivers are coming out of their banks with the result being extreme flooding.
“It was another round of major storms last night, and I just got a text we’re moving a baseball game at home because some power lines are down,” Kevin Ross told Chip Flory on Wednesday during the AgriTalk Farmer Forum.
“Man, it’s just unbelievable. Hail and high winds. All kinds of crazy stuff,” said Ross, who’s based near Minden.
Ross said his corn was looking really good until the latest rounds of rain commenced.
“Corn was looking promising… Soybeans were moving along. It’s been an interesting year, because we had such a spread-out planting season – one of the longest we’ve had,” Ross said.
Sherman Newlin said Iowa’s weather is nothing like he’s experienced in southeastern Illinois, near Hutsonville, during June.
“Thank goodness we have irrigation,” he said.
Newlin said he was bragging about how good his corn crop looked early on, but his area – which borders Indiana – has had hardly a drop of rain this month.
“Things have a long way to go around here. We’re hoping the forecasts change. If we don’t get rain soon, we’ll be in a world of hurt,” he told Flory.
Western Iowa needs Mother Nature to be nicer to farmers there, too, Ross added.
Carbon Markets
Both farmers addressed the opportunities and challenges with carbon and corn-based ethanol during the Farmer Forum discussion.
Listen here for both farmers’ perspectives.
