The agricultural impact of our late summer drought

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Drought continues across northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. The lack of rainfall is really causing stress on the agriculture industry in our area.

Crops started out with a decent season, even though Fort Wayne saw the rainiest April on record. This delayed planting slightly, but then things were good. It was a little dry, then rainy, but now we’ve turned very dry…

Joe Hilger, owner of Hilger Family Farm, says normally they are done irrigating crops at this point in the year. This year though, they are choosing to continue to water their sweet corn and next year’s strawberry crops.

Starting with summer crops, soybeans are drying out quickly from the top down. At the top, only tiny, if any beans at all, will be found. The beans will be bigger at the bottom, but the soybeans should be chest high by now and they are not even close. Soybeans can wait for water, but not this long.

Sweet corn is starting to fire up in the fields. This means the corn is starting to turn brown up at the bottom and is working its way up. The corn kernels are not going to form very well without getting rain soon. Corn needs quite a bit of water as it is developing.

The outlook is some of these summer crops will be lost, but not everything. Yields will vary across the area. It is possible there is a bit of an increase in grocery store prices because of some of these losses.

Transitioning to fall crops, they can handle the dryness a little more than the summer crops. In fact, apples are looking very good across the Midwest. This is because their roots go down far enough and can survive the drought we’re currently seeing.

Cabbage can take dry weather pretty good. This is because their leaves branch out and they can collect morning dew that goes down to their roots.

Pumpkins can handle a decent drought because their tap roots go farther down into the ground. However, they are even struggling and need more water. Pumpkins will be around this year, but the supply of big pumpkins will be shorter this year without an increase in rain soon.

If you decide to buy your pumpkins early, keep them in a shady spot. Putting them in the hot sun once they are off the vine will cause them to rot more quickly. Hilger is selling pumpkins now, but he will have a lot more for sale in two weeks.

Mums are also hardy and are available at the farm. Hilger is hoping for more rain, but not too much at once time, as standing water can also cause the pumpkins to rot.

To learn more about the Hilger Family Farm, visit their website here . To view any upcoming rain chances, visit our WANE 15 Weather Page .

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