In northern Michigan, corn is on track for success if ‘knee high by the Fourth of July,’ but in southern Indiana, that means the crop is behind schedule.
Purdue Extension corn specialist Dan Quinn said most of the state’s corn is up to his chest and able to withstand flooding. However, rainfall last month damaged crops in south central Indiana, including Monroe County. This region is the only one in the state with serious damage.
“Generally speaking, across the whole state, I don’t think crop damage is too widespread because the state was kind of on the dry side,” Quinn said.
Floods will become more common as a result of climate change, but Quinn said Hoosier farmers do a good job keeping up with changing demands.
“Weather is getting crazier and crazier, and it’s getting tougher and tougher,” he said. “But I feel farmers have more and more technology. The hybrids they grow are a lot better when responding to stress.”
He said it is not economical to replant corn now because farmers could not harvest it before the first frost this fall. Overall, Indiana’s crop ratings remain high.
“There’s still a lot of really good-looking corn out there, a lot of the fields aren’t flooded,” he said. “I don’t think the flooding is as widespread as it seems in some areas.”
