WARSAW — There's uncertainty and concern with this year’s corn and soybean crops in Indiana.

Usually, farm experts have a better idea of how Hoosier crops are shaping up by this time of the year, but a dry August has complicated that outlook.

"Ultimately, we've just had a very dry August. Unbelievably dry in many parts of the state," said Eric Pfeiffer, president of Hoosier Ag Today. "Boy, if you got some rain, you got lucky."

He says traditionally, when a major weather front passes through the region, farmers could count on large swaths of the state receiving rain, but that has changed in recent years.

Now, rain coverage is more spotty, he said.

"It can rain on one acre and you don't get anything on the next. That's just the reality the farmers are living in right now," he said.

He attributes it to shifting climate patterns

"You got guys on one side of the road and will  say, 'I've got record yields for both corn and beans, and then a person on the other side of the road that says, 'Nope, not this year."

"It's in bad shape," he added.

The US Department of Agriculture put out their expectations last month and predicted record yields for Indiana corn and soybeans, but Pfeifer said those were based on conditions on Aug. 1. 

Those predictions were the topic of a podcast by Hoosier Ag Today.

“The yield predictions were pretty far off for USDA,” Pfeiffer said.

He said there may be some clarity in the next projections expected to be released this month.

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INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana ag leaders were in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to meet with Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Representatives from AgriNovus, Beck’s, Corteva, Elanco, Purdue University, and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture all visited the USDA headquarters to strengthen the collaboration between Indiana’s ag community and USDA.

“Sen. Jim Banks actually coordinated it,” says ISDA Director Don Lamb. “We talked about a lot of things as far as just agriculture in Indiana and what we’re seeing and what we’re thinking and maybe some of the challenges that we’re facing.”

Lamb was grateful for the opportunity to meet with Rollins to build that relationship between D.C. and Indiana, and they took the opportunity to pitch Indiana as a possible home for more USDA employees.

“USDA has made mention of the possibility of moving parts of the USDA out to other areas of the country besides Washington, D.C., and so part of the goal, too, was also to let her know that if they were ever serious about doing that, and had some people that they’d like to move out of D.C., Indianapolis would sure be a great spot for them to land.”

Lamb says the strong agriculture and agbioscience industry in Indiana makes it the perfect place for them to consider.

“When you start with Purdue in the north and go down to IU in the south, and think about the veterinarian part of that, and then you think about the human health part of that. And then you think about Lilly and Corteva and the FFA National Center, and you’ve got Beck’s Hybrids, a big family-owned business, just so many things that Indianapolis has to offer. Great Convention Center, convention city, and so, who knows if anything can really come of this at this point, or whether it will. But boy, if there’s an opportunity, we might as well be in the mix.”

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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.

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