MERRILL, Iowa (KTIV) -
We've gone from the possibility of record crops, to just trying to salvage the harvest, in some cases. For farmers, rain is the name of the game.
Steve Ritz has been farming corn for 25 years, but he's never seen crops look like this.
"Lot of the beans could still do something if they got some rain, but most of this corn is done for," said Ritz.
In the last year, his fields have gotten only 8 inches of rain. Since Memorial Day, not even a full inch.
"We never planned for this little rainfall," said Ritz.
Ritz hopes to get at least two inches of rain in the next week in order to salvage 10 percent of their corn fields. If they don't get that, their entire corn crop will be a total loss.
If they can't sell the corn, it'll be used to feed their cattle.
"We'll try to cut as much silage as we can, try to round-bale some of the rest of the crop," said Ritz.
Iowa State University extension crop specialist Joel DeJong says Ritz isn't the only one feeling the heat from the dry crops.
"The two week forecast doesn't look good, so we expect to see some continued deterioration," said DeJong.
"We're just in one of the spots that the rain keeps missing," said Ritz.
DeJong says many farmers are on pace to lose tens of thousands of dollars because of the withered crops, and crop insurance would be small consolation.
"It's never fun to have a bad year like this. The crop insurance? You know, it helps, but it's not like a crop," said Ritz.
The state of Iowa as a whole has been affected by the lack of rain. In a report compiled by the state department of agriculture, 8 percent of the crops are doing very poor, 19 percent poor, and 37 percent fair, with 32 percent good and just 4 percent excellent
