As if farming isn't hard enough, Mother Nature has dealt blow after blow to West Tennessee growers damaging and destroying crops, leaving the ground too soft to support their heavy machinery.

"We've been out of the field now about a week or so at a very critical stage." Bob Hayes, Center Director of the West Tennessee Agriculture Research and Education Center, said.

But many fields are still flooded, increasing the chances the taller crops knocked over by the winds could rot and the wet conditions make for a perfect breeding ground for insects and weeds.These insects and weeds are taking over the fields and feasting on those profitable crops.

"These are obviously great conditions for diseases and insects that are gonna be prevalent due too the wet conditions. In some cases a generations of insects may have formed and morphed into a second generation which will continue to invade the crops if you didn't spray to kill for the first one." Hayes says.

Weeds and pests aside, farmers fear all the moisture alone could ruin or stunt their crops to the point it'll be impossible for them to turn a profit. Farmers remained sidelined though until the ground dries up and water runs off the fields.

"There is a combination of needing to get it out of the field and get the soybean planted also have the fields dry enough that we don't do a lot of compaction or rutting up the fields with harvesting equipment," Hayes said.

With a dry day in the forecast for tomorrow, many West Tennessee farmers will be out to evaluate their losses and to see where they need to go next since harvest season is right around the corner.

Source - http://www.wbbjtv.com/