According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, 49.7 percent of Indiana is under ‘moderate drought’ while 5.4 percent of the state is experiencing ‘severe drought’. The entire state is shown to have at least ‘abnormally dry’ conditions.
Among the counties labeled as having a ‘severe drought’ are six in northwestern Indiana: Lake, Porter, Newton, Jasper, Benton, and Warren counties.
“Our next chance for rainfall may not show up until next weekend—June 24th and 25th—and of those days, the 25th looks better as a system is coming together over the Midwest,” says Hoosier Ag Today’s Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin. “That means ten days of fully-dry weather across the region.”
Purdue Extension specialists Shaun Casteel and Dan Quinn say that Indiana’s producers should continue to pay close attention to crops and Indiana’s drought status.
According to Quinn, an assistant professor of agronomy and a corn specialist, corn crop conditions across the state have deteriorated over the past few weeks, especially in corn that was planted later in May. When the weather is hot and dry this early after corn is planted, corn roots have a harder time establishing in the ground, leading to possible challenges later in the growing season.
“It’s still too early to know if there will be significant yield losses, but if this does persist into pollination and the critical growth stages in the life cycle of the corn plant, we will have reason to be concerned,” said Quinn.
Soybean plants planted later in May are also struggling more compared to those planted earlier in the season. Casteel, an associate professor of agronomy and a soybean specialist, reminds farmers that in June, soybean plants might be off-green in color because of limited nitrogen supply.
Click below to hear HAT Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin’s Indiana Farm Forecast.
Sources: U.S. Drought Monitor (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Purdue Extension.
