Drought devastating state's crops

WHITELAND, Ind. (WISH) - The recent rain does little to erase the extreme drought conditions across the state. And when it comes to corn and soybean production, the extreme drought has hit Indiana harder than any other state.

Right now, 71 percent of Indiana’s corn is rated poor or very poor.

This week representatives from the federal government have been touring farms across Indiana to see the damage caused by the hot, dry summer.

“Already there are a lot of producers looking at how they are going to recover from this and making plans for next year. What crops am I going to plant? Can I plant a fall seed crop like winter wheat that I can get some cash next summer that will help get me through next year?” said USDA Undersecretary Michael Scuse.

At Kelsay Farms in Whiteland, farmer Merrill Kelsay grows feed corn for his dairy cows. Because of the drought he is facing poor corn quality and quantity this year.

“We are going to have a lot of fodder and not a lot of corn. So we are not going to have the normal quality of feed we used to have,” he said.

That means Kelsay will be forced to buy feed for his cows. His production costs have already increased 30 percent due to the drought. The heat is also taking a toll on the cows, which are now producing 5 percent less milk than normal.

Agriculture experts at Purdue said the poor corn crop will hit consumers in the wallet, too. They expect grocery prices to climb 2 percent to 3 percent.

Corn and soybean crop farmers will see some relief in the near future, not from Mother Nature, but from Uncle Sam. The federal government will likely pay out billions of dollars in disaster relief.

Scuse said it’s the livestock farmers who have the most to lose from the drought. Government programs once available to provide financial aid are no more.

“We just don’t have ability to help livestock producers” said Scuse.

Consumers may actually see a short-term drop in meat prices at grocery stores. Scuse expects that will happen as farmers unload their livestock.