Farmers are assessing crop damage from heavy rain in many areas of Minnesota and Iowa.
In Southern Minnesota, many farm fields were under water as torrential rain pushed ditches and rivers out of their banks.
Minnesota Soybean Growers Association President Darin Johnson described conditions on his farm near Wells as “A pretty dire situation.” Johnson said there were 7 to 10 inches of rain in many fields. He said this is some of the worst drown outs that have been seen in 15 years, but there are still some decent looking crops around.
Wet conditions also can make controlling weeds difficult because farmers can’t apply herbicides in a timely manner and also favor development of plant diseases.
It will take some time to assess crop damage from flooding. Farmers have until July 15th to report damage to crop insurance agents. The USDA will also gather data about crop loss to help inform crop yield predictions.