Farmers cope with crop losses due to drought
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Many local farmer are scrambling to save their crops, as most of southern and central Illinois is considered in drought, according to the Illinois State Water Survey. Randy Anderson, who farms around 2,500 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat outside Galatia, says he is looking at an 85 to 90 percent loss in his corn crop yield for the season.
Anderson's yield estimates are at zero to 25 bushels an acre this year for his corn crop, compared to his usual yield of 125 to 165 bushels an acre.
"Most farmers are seeing similar losses to the ones I have," he said.
Anderson's soybean crop is looking slightly better, with a 60 to 70 percent loss. He is expecting to harvest around 15 to 20 bushels an acre this year, when he usually harvests 40 to 45 bushels of soybeans an acre. Anderson said soybeans need less water and will handle more severe conditions than corn will.
He said the soybeans still have a chance to make a comeback, but only "if we get some timely rains in the next few weeks."
It's too late, however, for the corn crop. Anderson said at least 250 acres of his corn crop will never even be harvested, and the fields he does harvest will produce smaller ears of corn with less kernels than usual.
The only good news for Anderson lies in his wheat fields. Last year's excessive rains led to a low wheat yield, as wheat tends to thrive on less moisture. Anderson says this year's wheat crop is "some of the best wheat I've produced," thanks to a dry spring.
However, the good wheat yield hardly makes up for the losses he's seeing in his corn and soybean yields. Anderson has spoken with the Farm Service Agency about the availability of low-interest loans for area farmers who have lost income due to the drought, but has yet to work out the details. He does have crop insurance, though.
"The main reason I purchased crop insurance is to help protect the investments I've put into growing the crop," Anderson said.
He said crop insurance is based on a farmer's average yield for the past five years. Insurance can pay for a percentage of a farmer's average crop yield when losses are high, but Anderson's insurance company has not appraised his fields yet.
To make matters worse, farmers like Anderson who have cattle are struggling to feed and water the animals. Three of the four ponds on his property, which are usually used to water the cattle, have completely dried up. Anderson is watering the cows with city water, driving his water bills sky-high.
"That's an added cost we usually don't have to incur," he said.
In addition, Anderson said "there's no green vegetation for the cattle to feed on," meaning he has to feed them hay. He has already been feeding hay to the cattle for six weeks, which he usually doesn't start doing until late September or early October.
With the extreme heat, Anderson says livestock are maintaining their weight but not gaining weight like they should be.
However, Anderson's main concern right now is harvesting as much usable crop as he can. He is worried the quality of the grain for the corn that is produced is still going to be low and explained that drought-stressed corn is especially susceptible to certain types of fungi.
"That is a grave concern," Anderson said.
Out in one of his fields, Anderson stood in waist-high corn that he says should be 10-feet tall by now. He said it's often deceiving to see the height of the corn on the edge of a field when driving by, because the interior of the fields could still be dead.
Anderson points out the gray color of the soybean crops and explained the plants turn their leaves upside down to protect themselves from the extreme heat. In his yard, Anderson's chickens seem to be doing the same by hiding in the only shady spot in their coop, under the water trough.
Even though he's facing a tough year on the farm, Anderson's spirits remained high Wednesday as he talked about the old farmer's saying that severe weather like droughts come in cycles. He's hoping for a better crop yield next year, and is going to do whatever he has to in order to keep the farm running until then.
For further information, check out the Illinois State Water Survey website at http://www.isws.illinois.edu/hilites/drought/ or the University of Illinois Extension Drought website at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/drought/.
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Stewart receives email at cstewart@dailyregister.com.
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