We’re supposed to plant a cover crop on the fields we could plant, but it’s been so wet we couldn’t even do that.” The farm also has some wheat, which normally runs between 13 and 15 percent moisture at its highest levels.
Batavia was 5.97 inches ahead as of the start of the month.
Which is worse for farmers: a year of drought or a year of excessive moisture?
Excessive moisture problems Rain certainly brings a lot of problems for farmers during the season but it also has the potential to affect future seasons.
“Farmers might try still using (a field) for hay or doing a full-season cover crop to help the health of the soil,” Nixon said.
Planting problems With the frequent rains, a lot of acres of farmland in the region never got planted.
They don’t have to because the water is up on top.” So is drought or excessive moisture worse?
However for corn and soy beans, between drought and deluge, he said he would rather take a wet year than a dry year.
Weathering the storms While other farms might struggle with crop yields, LynOaken Farms on the Ridge in Medina hasn’t had any issues with all the excessive rain.
Oakes said between the drought of last year and deluge of this year, the drought was harder to handle because a lot of the farm’s acres were unirrigated.