Recent Rain Too Little, Too Late for Most Louisville-Area Farm Crops

Source from:  tfq.itsmyiq.com Aug 27, 2007 08/28/2007

Dry weather and temperatures around 100 degrees over much of the last few weeks has damaged much of the Louisville, Kentucky area, a recent rains has not helped the situation a great deal, according to a report in the Louisville, Kentucky Courier-Journal. Even the soybeans need more rain. Without it, soybean yields could be down 60 percent. Several farmers said it's one of the worst years they can remember. "It's definitely a bad year," said Chad Lee, a grain specialist at the University of Kentucky. How bad remains to be seen. Yield potentials are definitely hurt, but it's too early to say how bad the actual yield loss would be, he said. Conditions for corn and soybeans have declined this month, according to crop and weather reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The corn yield estimate - which was based on normal conditions for the rest of the growing season - suggested an 18 percent decrease from 2006 to 120 bushels an acre. Soybean yield was projected at 38 bushels an acre, down 14 percent from last year. The hardest-hit Kentucky crop remains hay, which was severely hurt by the spring freeze. Alfalfa hay is projected to drop 48 percent from last year. The outlook for tobacco hasn't been as bad as grain crops, although Will Snell, a UK tobacco economist, said the extended drought and lengthy, intense heat are hurting, particularly in Western Kentucky. "Tobacco is a very drought-tolerant crop," he said. "It just needs some timely rains. It'll sit there forever, as long as it gets some moisture at the right time." Tobacco farmers who've gotten rain or who irrigate have excellent crops, he said. Enditem