INDIANA — As the spring season unfolds, local farmers are facing significant challenges brought on by the excessive rainfall and flooding this season. This could have impacts come harvest season.
Farmers across the area are grappling with the impact of relentless rain, which has not only saturated fields but also complicated planting schedules.
“We're behind where we should be, really, for this time of year,” said Luke Doughtery, a multi-generational farmer who farms across seven Indiana counties.
The rain and flooding have had several impacts on him and other local farmers.
IU Earth Sciences professor Doug Edmonds has been researching some of those impacts. For the last decade, he’s been studying flooding along the White River.
“I'm interested in how they change over time, particularly how sediment is eroded or deposited, said Edmonds, who also serves as Chair in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences.
He’s been looking at the impacts this flooding has on farmland.
When Indiana saw major rain and flooding in late March to early April, he zeroed in on Seymour in southern Indiana for his research.
“We placed sensors in the farm field,” Edmonds explained. “I looked at the last five years of flow history on the White River, and this year is definitely a wet year.”
Edmonds told WRTV the flood earlier in the season mostly resulted in some soil erosion, which could pose a major problem for farmers.
“That's a problem because the topsoil contains the nutrients that help the seeds that farmers plant grow. So topsoil is a pretty important natural resource for southern Indiana and for the agricultural economy,” Edmonds said.
The impacts are already being felt this season and could make for a challenging year ahead.
“We're losing days on the calendar that we should really be getting in the field, and so, it's really just going to push us into a tighter window,” Dougherty said.
Dougherty is hopeful that the rain will ease up so he and other farmers can stay on track for the season.
The latest crop report as of May 18 shows 64% of the corn and 49% of the beans across the state have been planted, according to WRTV Storm Team.
Edmonds said his research indicates the climate is getting wetter in Southern Indiana.
He’s working on eventually expanding his research and hopes it will help Hoosier farmers better understand the landscapes they rely on to help shape future decisions.
