Little rain has some farmers concerned about young crops

SCOTT COUNTY, Iowa (KWQC) - No significant rain fall during the month of May has some farmers concerned about their young crops.

Chief Photographer Randy Biery visited a farmer in Scott County who says he’s making the best of the little rain he’s gotten.

As one farmer recounts, the last significant rainfall for him was around May 11 or May 12 that averaged about 1.7 inches.

“This soil is really starting to dry out,” says Scott County farmer. “Our farming practices make it so that our soil holds a little bit more water. It allows the rain fall to actually infuriate the soil a little bit easier. And if you look at it like a sponge, we have a bigger sponge on our farming fields because of those farming practices that we’ve been using over the last 10 to 15 years.”

These farmers say they do ‘no-till’ for their soil which means that they plant the seed directly into last years fields without doing any tillage.

The farmer also added that this allows the soil structure to stay the same and allows them to hold more water and stop erosion.

“When you do regular tillage, in the spring time, you’re tilling the soil and drying out the soil, and then that moisture is gone,” said Scott County farmer. “We go in and we make a little slice for the seed to go into the ground, and we seal it up right away and we keep that moisture in the ground.”

The farmer says that because of this technique, it helps provide an advantage when they run into drier times.

“Framers are the eternal optimists,” said Scott County farmer. “We plan that we’re going to get a rain, and it will come. Not too concerned yet, but you never want to pass up a good rain, and we’re hoping and praying that we can get a little shower this weekend.”

He concluded by saying that the stress on his crops may likely result in a slightly smaller yield, this fall.

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