Drought-weary Kentucky farms need a good soaker for their crops; corn growers can’t wair

By Aimee Nielson
College of Kentucky

It’s a dry, sizzling summer time in Kentucky with no important precipitation on the horizon. The state’s corn growers can’t afford to attend for rain; they want it now. Presently about half of the state is in reasonable drought, in keeping with the U.S. Drought Monitor’s July 8 report. One other quarter of the state is abnormally dry.

“The state’s corn crop means that the drought severity is underestimated,” stated Chad Lee, director of the College of Kentucky Grain and Forage Heart of Excellence in Princeton.

“A lot of the crop has reached or is reaching tasseling stage. It is a time when the crop calls for satisfactory water. This progress stage is when the plant is most delicate to a scarcity of water.” 

In Fulton County, UK Cooperative Extension agent for agriculture and pure sources Ben Rudy has spent quite a lot of time driving across the county and surveying the crop circumstances. He stated farmers there didn’t plant as a lot corn acreage this 12 months resulting from excessive enter prices, however there’s nonetheless quite a lot of corn, and all of it wants a giant rain.

“We’ve components of the county which have been with none rain for a month or extra,” he stated. “I drove to Murray and seen that two-thirds of the corn alongside freeway 94 is tasseling and the remainder will in all probability hit that stage this week. Even the double-cropped soybeans are struggling. When the beans begin to look unhealthy, it’s actually dry.” 
 
Lee stated soybeans don’t demand as a lot water as corn, they usually can set many flowers and pods, so they have a great probability to climate a dry interval.
  
“Soybeans are usually not at a vital level like corn,” he added. “Nevertheless, Kentucky led america in crop decline over the primary full week of July. That’s not an space the place we need to be in first place.”
  
Corn growers have a giant funding of their crop yearly, however this 12 months could also be greater than others  resulting from excessive enter costs and instability within the international grain commerce as a result of battle in Ukraine. Lee stated a drought is rarely good for corn growers, however with all of the components at play, this 12 months is maybe the worst  to expertise a drought.

“Some good, soaking rains within the subsequent couple of weeks would actually flip the scenario round and protect the potential to have not less than break-even yields,” Lee stated. “If we don’t get these rains, we’ll see yield potential drop. Even an inch of rain, soaking into the soil within the subsequent week, would actually assist.”

Corn in Fulton County is struggling. (Picture by Ben Rudy/UK Cooperative Extension)

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UK School of Agriculture, Meals and Setting meteorologist Matt Dixon stated the 2022 drought is completely different from the 2012 drought due to dew level temperatures, which point out the quantity of moisture within the air. In 2012, dew level temperatures have been within the 50s and 60s, resulting in tolerable humidity, however larger charges of evapotranspiration. This 12 months, they’re within the 70s and typically even touching 80.
  
“On July 7, the Todd County Mesonet station recorded a temperature of 101 levels,” Dixon stated. “Mixed with a dewpoint of close to 80, the warmth index hit 121, resulting in very oppressive warmth.”
 
He stated present circumstances are creating what they name a damaging suggestions cycle.
  
“Which means it’s harder to get precipitation in areas which can be already so dry,” he added. “Sadly, the forecast doesn’t paint an ideal image for these hardest hit areas throughout the western half of the state. Hopefully that modifications sooner quite than later and will quantity to some replenishing rainfall.”