Iowa farmers are dealing with a drought the likes of which they haven't seen before. | Pixabay
Iowa farmers are dealing with a drought the likes of which they haven't seen before. | Pixabay
Central and west-central Iowa farmers are facing a drought like they have never seen before.
Greg Jensen, a farmer near Hamlin with more than 45 years of farming experience, told Brownfield Ag News that it's the worst that he's ever seen.
“In 2012, we got lucky in our area," Jensen said. "We were dry, but it wasn’t too bad for us. But I’d have to say this is probably the worst I’ve ever had farming. We haven’t had a rain over a half-inch all spring and summer. It’s very disappointing, because the crops looked really good early. They looked good until probably the last couple weeks and now they’re showing signs of deterioration.”
While the corn is still green, Iowa State University agronomist Mike Witt said the issue will be ear development.
“The ear will start to get smaller," Witt said. "You’ll get less kernels around and you will also start to get tip back. Another thing people will notice when they look in their fields is how fast the crop is maturing—looking at ears and there could be some that are denting already, which is far too soon to be doing that.”
Cattle ranchers have also seen stress in their pastures and been supplementing their feeding with hay or grain. The hay fields haven't escaped the drought either.
Alerts Sign-up