Indiana’s 2015 crop yields suffered because of the soggy spring and early summer, but that might not be the case for the southwest corner of the state.
Since Southwest Indiana has a hilly topography, it was spared some of the flooding that was encountered in flatter, northern Indiana, said Purdue Extension Corn Specialist Bob Nielsen.
“All of them yielded very well compared to average,” Nielsen said of crop-growing trials in Dubois County, Knox County and the Seymour area.
Extensive rainfall in the summer and spring caused area farmers to worry about how their crops would be affected. The fact that a wet June and July were followed by two unusually dry months only exacerbated the crop shortages across the state. Indiana’s overall corn crop yield was expected to be 5.6 percent below normal, with some parts of the state, especially northern Indiana, experiencing losses at 20 percent.
The US Department of Agriculture projects that Hoosier farmers will harvest 848.6 million bushels of corn on an average of 156 bushels per acre, a 20 percent decrease from last year’s record 1.08 billion bushels on 188 bushels per acre.
In terms of rainfall, Dubois County surpassed its yearly precipitation average in July. The middle months were especially soggy, with 12.7 inches of rain in June — that’s about three times more rainfall than the 30-year average for the month of June, according to data gathered by the Southern Indiana Purdue Agricultural Center near Dubois. July, which saw 8 inches of rain pelt the county, nearly doubled its 30-year output and, similar to June, April came in about three times above average with 11 inches. Right now, Dubois County’s 2015 rainfall count rests at 58.94, about 11 inches above the 30-year average.
Nielsen was quick to point out that even though the rolling hills dotting Dubois County and surrounding counties create better drainage and less flooding, there’s still parts of the southern region that will suffer, particularly for low-lying farms located next to rivers. Amy Barber, the county executive director for the USDA branch serving Dubois and Pike counties, said that she doesn’t have any stats for county crop yields, but did note there was lots of variance throughout Pike and Dubois counties.
“We had some issues here as well,” Barber said. “Some crops turned out pretty decent. Some crops didn’t.”
The most recent statistics available, reported in the early summer, show that about 5,500 acres of corn and soybeans have been destroyed in Dubois County. That data is collected by the USDA through examination of flood plane maps and is considered a rough estimate. The rolling hills in southern Indiana can cause problems in dryer months as they drain water more easily than flat ground. However, this year, because of the rainfall, the hills have actually helped mitigate flooding and made some land more fertile.
Across the state, this year’s wet weather has prompted farmers to harvest crops earlier. By Nov. 2, farmers had harvested 92 percent of the state’s corn crop, about 20 percent more than the state’s five-year average, according to the USDA Crop Progress Report. Nielsen said this year’s early harvest allows farmers to perform fall tillage sooner, benefiting next year’s crop cycle.
“That keeps everything moving forward on a timely basis,” Nielsen said.
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