Farmers flooded with challenges after bouts of wet weather

Last year about this time, the agricultural community was agonizing over what kind of impact the persistent drought would have on farm fields and crop production.

This year it’s a moisture concern – too much of it from heavy rains – more than 15 inches of rain in May, June and part of July that put fields underwater for long periods of time.

The rain has let up some for now, but the effects are evident in bare or stunted fields of corn and soybeans. The wet conditions also have had impacts on alfalfa, fruit and vegetable growers. Some 300,000 acres have been affected across the state, according to Thom Petersen, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Effects also extend into South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska.

The impacts here have been felt from western Carver County down to Mankato and southwest Minnesota, and all the way up the Red River Valley.

Buoyed by the rainfall, some rows of corn were well over knee-high by the Fourth of July, others just a few yards away only 6-12 inches high. And while some soy bean fields are lush and green, others are yellow, even bare. Some fields never even got planted.

“Parts of fields where the crops were under water for 24 hours are of most concern and most likely will not recover,” said Colleen Carlson, extension educator in ag production systems for Carver and Scott counties. “The soil was saturated with water for too long of a period.”

In pattern tiled fields water has dissipated more quickly and conditions are better. In other fields that haven’t been tiled or are running full the water has lingered.

At this point the opportunity for replanting has diminished this late in the season, Carlson said. In drowned out areas she is advising farmers to plant a cover crop to keep weeds at bay or overseed with oats for some harvestable forage or for animal bedding.

Meanwhile, with the amount of rain we received, relatively mild temperatures and water moving slowly out of the soil, she explains that most plants are shallowly rooted, and disease and insect pressure will remain high throughout the season.

The water also has affected soil fertility, leaching nitrogen out of the soil, and has affected farmers ability to get into the field to apply overdressing or weed control. She says now farmers will want to consider the economic return of any additional investment for in-season fertilizer applications and only treating when insect pressure reaches high thresholds.

For alfalfa growers, the rainy condition effects have been not enough time between rains for hay to dry, also an abundance of alfalfa weevils that survived over a mild fall and winter with few hard freezes and little snow cover.

Meanwhile, fruit and vegetable growers have had trouble getting into their fields to harvest, while moisture on vegetables – beans for example, can result in rust or blight.

So, there are many factors and challenges at play during this growing season.

“We never want extremes – too dry or too wet. But in dry conditions roots will reach down for moisture. In water and saturated soil, there is no space for them to grow,” Carlson said.

On the positive side, Petersen notes that pasture for cattle is good, and through improved crop genetics and with extended periods of sun and favorable weather the rest of the season, many crops could recover like they did last year despite the drought.

Crop acreage reporting wasn’t due to the Minnesota Farm Service Agency (FSA) until July 15, so crop losses won’t be fully be evaluated until closer to harvest time, agriculture resource agents explain, and they emphasize that a 30 percent production loss across a county must be reported for many assistance programs to be enacted. So, they are encouraging farmers to keep accurate field records, take pictures now and at harvest time, and report any flood losses, regardless of insurance status, to the FSA office.

Even farmers with crop insurance will recapture only 60-80 percent of an average yield, but there could be other possible recovery programs or assistance coming depending on conditions.

In the meantime, Carlson notes that the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and the Minnesota Farm Service Agency have a multitude of flood damage resources available on their websites, including mental health resources. Carver County/UMN Extension also offers information and resources to help prepare for and recover from the effects of extreme weather, including damage to homes, buildings, crops and lawns, as well as tools for financial recovery. Go to: www.extension.umn.edu.

Oddly and ironically, Carlson adds: “If we had the rain we have had so far this year over the past three drought years, we would be running average.”