GALVA, Ill. — Midwest farmers are still worried over continued droughts, despite some recent much needed rain.
According to data from the National Integrated Drought Information System, as of July 4th, 87% of Iowa is facing some amount of drought. Illinois is facing almost 85%.
News 8's Jonathan Fong visited Henry County farmer Brian Corkill based in Galva, Illinois, riding with him in a tractor outfitted for spreading fertilizer.
"We've cut back on how much we're gonna put on, just cause of the growing season being so dry," Corkill said. "There's no sense in putting on the same amount of nutrients if we're not gonna get the same amount of yields."
Corkill said the droughts have not only been longer but earlier this year, and corn yields could be hit badly.
"At this point, we're not gonna gain anything," he said. "We're just trying to protect what we have at this point in time."
He said rain helps protect those yields and is much-needed, but having too much would still be a problem.
"We don't necessarily want that to drag into harvest, because then that causes issues being able to actually physically harvest a crop if it's super wet and muddy," Corkill said.
Corkill pointed out changes in crop height on a walk through the field, noting several patches where the corn was much shorter due to the dry weather.
He also showed how some of the corn was already tasseling, which is the thin shaft that sprouts from the top and leads to pollination.
"Typically when the corn's tasseling, it's gonna be a couple feet over my head at the least — so this year it's a little shorter due to the dry weather," Corkill explained.
To mitigate the losses and remain profitable, Corkill said faster distribution to ethanol plants, product processors and other sales methods will avoid lower-grade crops from degrading too much.
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