WARSAW — North Central Indiana has gone three weeks without rain and accompanied by abnormally warm temperatures which might make you wonder how this year's harvest is doing.

For the most part, the lack of rain is working in the favor of farmers, says Gary Truitt, with, Hoosier Ag Today

The weather conditions are speeding up the harvest process, he said.

"All this dryness is actually helping the crop dry down. It's helping, particularly with the corn, getting ready for harvest," Truitt said.

[caption id="attachment_98581" align="alignright" width="320"] Above is the latest drought map report. The map is updated on Thursdays, so this is a few days old but still underscores overall conditions.[/caption]

Crops that were planted late could see a slight impact, he said.

"If this was happening in July, it would be a disaster. At this point, it's not a disaster. It might reduce yields somewhat, but it is going to make harvest quicker and easier."

One clear concern, though, is the chance of field fires that are ripe under the current conditions.

"There is a danger of fire with all the dust out there and the dry conditions -- that's gonna be a serious issue to watch. It's probably the biggest concern right now. Guys gotta be careful out there because the chance of a fire is pretty high.

As of Monday, 26 counties in Indiana have issued burn bans because of dry conditions, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Truitt said conditions are much dryer in Ohio, compared to Indiana where southern Indiana received some rain last week.

Truitt said northern Indiana needs a heavy rain to make an impact because soils are parched.

Meteorologist Matt Rudkin is forecasting no sign of rain for another week.

The post Dry conditions speeding up harvest process appeared first on News Now Warsaw.