Mark Wilson Evansville Courier & Press Published 4:37 PM EDT Jun 4, 2019 EVANSVILLE — Delayed by heavy rains, local farmers are racing to finish planting and minimize the impact of lower yields and diminished insurance payments. Throughout Indiana and the rest of the Midwest, farmers have struggled to meet traditional planting deadlines in one of the wettest springs many can remember and coming out of the wettest 12 months on record in the United States. Farmers statewide had only planted 31 percent of corn and 17 percent of soybeans as of June 2, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s crop progress report that indicated an average of just over 14 inches of rain had fallen on Southwestern Indiana since April 1. Most farmers hope to finish planting by early May. Some farmers may choose to cut their losses and file for prevented planting crop insurance. However, even if they qualify, the payments decrease 1 percent a day for each day they plant past June 5, said Bob White, director of national government relations at the Indiana Farm Bureau. This means farmers must gamble on whether it will be financially worth extending their time planting. For many farmers, like John Carnahan in Knox County, it is still worth the risk. “This has been the wettest year I can recall,” he said. “Our windows of opportunity have been very narrow. It hasn’t been more work but it has just been stretched out further. We have been pushing to try to get it done…. [Read full story]
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