By LISA NICELY
nicely@crescent-news.com
While a lot of the corn is knee-high and wheat is coming off the field, it hasn't been a perfect season for crops.
"The weather wasn't ideal to start the planting season but you cannot discount the ability of Ohio farmers to get a crop in the ground," said Dwayne Siekman, executive director of the Ohio Corn Growers Association. "Our family farmers continue to grow enough corn for animal feed, food products and corn ethanol."
According to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 72 percent of the nation's corn crop is in good or excellent condition. That is up from 61 percent in 2008.
"Obviously we got off to a late start planting the majority of the acres," said Greg LaBarge with the Ohio State University extension offices in Fulton and Henry Counties. "We did a lot of planting over Memorial Day weekend. Generally things are going well. We have some corn up to shoulder height (that were planted) in the early planting stages. Some planted later is in the knee-high growth."
Weather also has had an affect on the crops.
"I think the general indication is the crops, despite the rain and replanting, are doing well," said Phillip Lautenschlager II, executive director of the Farm Service Agency in Paulding. "I think there were some crops planted in less desirable conditions, however. I have had some people happy with how it stands and others just say they are OK. Some people have told us they replanted some."
Only beans and corn can be replanted. Several businesses that offer crop insurance said they have had customers replanting.
"Replanting, especially in Defiance County, has been especially heavy this year," said Teresa Williamson of Williamson Insurance Agency in Paulding. "There are always replants, but this year is similar to what it was in 2002 (when flooding was a major issue). Defiance County has been getting more rain than it needs, but we may be setting up for a drought period soon. They (the National Weather Service) have been predicting rain for weeks and we haven't seen a drop yet. Maybe we will get rain, but right now it isn't looking promising."
Williamson said that farmers have had to replant both corn and beans because of the cold and wet weather earlier this season.
"When we did get some heat it helped, but it also baked in some of the crops that were pounded with in with rain," she said, adding that some crops were baked into the mud. "It sets it up like concrete. It's hard for a bean plant or corn plant to push through."
Things weren't that bad for everyone in the area.
"It (replanting) is down from what it was a year ago," said Dan Brubaker of American Agricultural Assets in Napoleon. "Relatively speaking it's a much better year so far at least. But we have small pockets that had replants. Those pockets are scattered throughout the area."
Brubaker said some of the pockets were near Ridgeville, Hamler and north of Napoleon. He added that most of the replanted crops have been soybeans. Only a few were corn.
Rain is the main culprit for the scattered ruined crops.
"One farmer had four inches of rain and his neighbor had an inch and a half," Brubaker said. "That has been the story of this year at least."
While corn and bean crops seem to be mixed this year, wheat seems to be doing well.
"We've heard various reports from growers across the state," said Siekman. "They are extremely pleased with quality and yield from their fields this year. We've seen yields that are 90 bushes per acre being reported, which is very good."
Siekman said a variety of factors have helped the wheat crop this year.
"We had, for the most part, a fairly mild winter," he said. "That helped wheat development. The seeds themselves, the hybrids and new varieties, also helped. Those two factors played a big part in how the crop is doing."
LaBarge says in general the wheat crop looks good for northwest Ohio farmers.
"As far as some of the diseases, such as head scab, we don't see any high numbers of that in wheat fields," he said. "There may be some here and there. We had some cool weather conditions that helped wheat fill out. There's no reason to think we can't see some 90 bushels or more this year (per acre). County averages are more in mid-70s looking at the history."