Battling severe weather and uncertain market conditions is nothing new for farmers, who will tell you it comes with the territory. But this year’s weather, wet in the spring and now very dry in some parts of the state, is wreaking havoc on the state’s farm economy. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has requested federal disaster assistance for 88 of the state’s 92 counties. Boone County farmer Don Lamb says for the first time ever, 120 acres on his family farm went unplanted this year. “Boone County, I would guess, may have 20 or 30,000 acres not planted and that is incredible,” said Lamb. “It’s one thing to say we’re having a tough year, but this one is pretty extreme.”
In an interview on this weekend’s edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, Lamb said the entire agriculture ecosystem is affected.
Nationally, the United States Department of Agriculture says soybean planting is at its lowest level since 2013. In Indiana, it is estimated that 650,000 fewer acres of soybeans were planted this year, compared to 2018.
Lamb says the impact is far reaching.
“This is really affecting the whole industry,” said Lamb. “We need a healthy industry, we need the input suppliers to be healthy, we need our markets to be healthy. A year like this affects everybody and it’s not just the farmers taking the brunt.”