Dry weather and an early planting season have made this a unique year for farmers across Logan County.
Doug Henry manages crop operations at Henry Farms near Middleburg. The Henry family together farms close to 4,000 acres, which is made up of corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa. He says the early planting season and lower-than-average rainfall has made it a unique growing year so far.
Henry also remarks the dry weather is being felt across the country through the crop markets. Concerns have raised prices on almost all commodities over the nation.
He also points out his alfalfa crop is growing at about two-thirds of usual production.
Listen to Doug Henry talk about how crops are doing.
Looking around at crops around the county, wheat and corn is ahead of schedule. The warm spring allowed wheat to grow and other crops to be planted earlier than most years.
Last year, almost all crops were late going into the ground and some farmers were still planting into mid-June.
Wheat will be harvested about two weeks earlier than usual this year. Some of the wheat harvest has already begun in the western part of Logan County. Henrys expect to start combining wheat by the end of the week.
Wheat is being harvested early enough that there is talk of many farmers planting a double crop of beans after the wheat fields have been taken care of, allowing nearly twice the production.
With an early planting season, many farmers hope to be harvesting corn and soybeans ahead of schedule. However, they are all hoping for more rain in the forecast.
