Harvest is underway in northwest Indiana, but wet fields are making progress a muddy proposition for farmers across the region.
Denise Scarborough of northwest Indiana says they’ve received another five-and-a-half inches of rain over the weekend, leaving fields saturated just as harvest activity is picking up.
“We have the theme of mud. This year we received another 5.5 inches of rain over the weekend. They have been busy harvesting our seed corn. We are about 70% harvested, but man, our fields are just a muddy mess,” she said.
Scarborough says the wet conditions are affecting more than just her own operation. Neighbors are also trying to get potatoes out of the ground for Black Gold Farms and tomatoes harvested for Red Gold.
While seed corn harvest is about 70 percent complete, Scarborough says they have yet to begin harvesting their commercial corn and soybeans.
She says, “We are hoping that things will dry out a little bit, and we can get some wheat planted this weekend, but we have not started harvesting any commercial crops. We are hoping to begin that in the beginning of next week.”
For northwest Indiana farmers, the next several days could be critical. They need enough drying weather to get equipment into the fields without causing additional compaction or leaving machinery stuck in the mud.
And with winter wheat planting also approaching, farmers are watching the forecast closely.
For now, the harvest message from northwest Indiana is simple: crops are ready, equipment is ready — but the fields need to dry.
And as farmers across the region get rolling, Scarborough has one final message: “Hope you’re all safe out there this harvest and have a great day!”
