NOBLESVILLE. Ind. (WRTV) — While the extreme heat has many Hoosiers staying indoors, farmers don't have that luxury.
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The summer sun fuels Indiana's growing season, but for seventh-generation farmer Adam Sheller of Sheller Farms in Noblesville, the heat is a balancing act.
"Right now, as far as the crops go, they're kind of loving this weather. They love the heat. There's this unit called 'growing degree days,' and we're hitting right now, which is very good for the corn. The moisture levels are right where they need to be, so that's why your yards are growing so fast right now, because plants love this weather."
The hot temperatures help corn and soybeans thrive, but also help the weeds grow.
"We're kind of just managing weed control and pressures right now. Trying to continue to gain that optimal yield. You'll notice some fields will have some bare spots from all of the rain we had early on. Specifically, south of Indianapolis is going to have a lot more because they had all those storms recently. All of that will just kind of manage those spots and make sure they don't have tons of weeds."
Sheller says the more weeds you have, the less gross profit you'll have because the weeds steal the nutrients and moisture the crops need to grow.
He said not only the plants feel the heat on the farm. With dairy goats, beef cattle, and pigs, keeping livestock comfortable is just as important.
"You have to have water (the animals). We water daily -- a lot of them are on automatic waterers now -- and just trying to not do a lot with the animals. Don't push them into a stressed situation. Let them just do what they do. Give them plenty of feed and make sure they're eating right. When we do work with, we do it in the mornings early, or in the evenings late."
Farmers say they constantly adjust during hot weather, protecting crops and animals. "We will break here for about a month, and then we will spray again a fungicide spray on these beans and corn, and what the fungicide does is prevent pathogens coming in and killing our plants early, so they can have a longer life and produce more yield."
