More and more it appears that tall, healthy corn won’t be part of the rural landscape here and in many parts of the continental United States this summer. Instead that familiar image of America’s idyllic countryside will give way to one of barren fields and overgrown weeds. That’s the sad assessment of some area farmers and agricultural experts who see no way out of a looming national crisis brought on by this year’s relentless spring rain. Farmers across America are now turning to the Twitter hashtag #NoPlant19 to lament about the rain and try to pull one another through the crisis, a conversation now trending as one of the more popular on that social media platform. Several people agree the upcoming multi-billion dollar impact on the economy from such losses are consistent with warnings about climate change issued in the federal government’s latest National Climate Assessment last November, which said billions of more dollars of agricultural losses are on the horizon if more isn’t done to reduce greenhouse gases. Here are some U.S. Department of Agriculture figures about Ohio, which hasn’t even taken the brunt of the nation’s flooding: ■ As of June 2 only 33 percent of Ohio’s corn acreage and 18 percent of the state’s soybean acreage had been planted. ■ By this time of year, at least 90 percent of corn should have been planted, and 79 percent of soybeans should have been planted. And that’s based only on the most recent five-year average. Years ago plantings were made much earlier in the spring. ■ Ohio’s whopping 57 percent deviation from its most recent average for corn is second only to Indiana’s 63 percent deviation. Numerous other states have fallen far off pace, as well, because of soaked fields that haven’t been able to dry out enough to plant. ■ Ohio was down 61 percent from its most recent five-year average for planting soybeans as of June 2. It’s important to note those are statewide averages, skewed upward by more central and southern Ohio farmers able to get into their fields than those in other parts of the state. In northwest Ohio it is believed that less than 10 percent of the corn acreage has been planted, possibly even less than 5 percent. And even if their farms dry out enough to plant corn in another week or two, the growing season has been so compressed that the smaller yields wouldn’t likely justify it. Most corn used to be planted in April. Planting it after the Memorial Day weekend was almost unthinkable 25 or 30 years ago. “It just seems our whole [planting] seasons have been moved back a month,” said Mark Bushman, 63, who has farmed more than 1,200 acres near Pemberville the past 45 years. “We used to plant in April. Now we’re lucky if it’s mid-May.” Bottom line: Growing season 2019 could be a washout nationally. Northwest Ohio farmers especially “can’t buy a break in that part of the state this year,” Ty Higgins, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation spokesman, said. He said he knows of many who haven’t planted the first seed, and may not even be able to justify planting soybeans, which usually are planted later than corn. “I would say the situation in northwest Ohio is much more dire than other parts of the state. There are going to be a bunch of fields filled with weeds,” Mr. Higgins said. “This is the worst planting season since we began keeping track of progress in the 1970s. It’s going to change the entire landscape of the countryside of northwest Ohio.” The last day for farmers to file for full insurance coverage in event they get insufficient yields of corn this summer was June 5. Each day after that, according to the federal Farm Bill, coverage must be reduced by 1 percent daily, meaning that — for example — farmers who file by June 10 would only be eligible for 95 percent coverage. No filings for corn are allowed after June 25. The filing date for full insurance coverage on soybean losses is June 20, with similar penalties for filing after that. And that’s just for what’s been planted. Farmers who aren’t able to plant seed in the first place file for a type of crop insurance known as “prevented planting,” in which they become eligible to receive 55 to 60 percent of their most recent, average earnings. The payouts are designed to help farmers being bankrupted by any one bad growing season — and hope the following year is better. Crop insurance is akin to temporarily living off disability insurance, when recipients often must live off 60 percent of their normal paychecks. Or, as Perrysburg Township farmer Kris Swartz said, it’s sort of like getting an insurance payment for the value of your automobile after you’ve been in a wreck. “It allows you to tread water for one year,” Mr. Swartz said. “You’re not going to sink, but you’re not going to get ahead, either.” Joe Logan, Ohio Farmers Union president, said he knows of many farmers who have given up on trying to plant corn this year and are waiting to see if they can even plant soybeans. “They’re exchanging seed as we speak,” Mr. Logan, who farms about 200 acres of corn and 200 acres of soybeans in northeast Ohio’s Trumbull County, said. “I expect the number of prevented planting [claims] will explode this year in Ohio, which isn’t even one of the hardest-hit states.” Mr. Logan is one of several farmers who share concerns that environmentalists are raising about rising water in manure lagoons at large livestock facilities classified as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. Although conditions have been too wet to apply manure in many parts of the state, activists such as Sandy Bihn of the Lake Erie Waterkeeper and Pam Taylor of Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan question if lagoons are being managed well enough to prevent spills. Manure handling is a big concern to western Lake Erie scientists, because it has high concentrations of dissolved reactive phosphorus, the type far more easily consumed by algae and, thus, helps it grow faster. The Ohio Department of Agriculture warns farmers on its website to be especially careful with nutrients this spring because of the heavy rain, and told The Blade in a written statement it is working with livestock producers across the state “to ensure manure storage structures do not exceed their design capacities.” Farmers don’t like sitting on the sidelines. In addition to hurting their bottom lines, the excessive rain drives up anxiety because they’re accustomed to working out in their fields this time of year. “They are very, very frustrated they have to sit back and watch,” Mr. Higgins said. “There are a lot of emotions involved when you can’t do what God put you on this Earth to do.” Some said they may not enjoy arguing climate change policy, but recognize something odd has been happening in recent years. “We know things are getting squirrely and that our system that used to be reliable is getting unreliable,” Mr. Logan said. “Farmers are going to have to think about resilience and how to integrate that into their management systems.” It’s not just the rainfall amounts, but the relentless consistency of the precipitation. And, with temperatures cooler than normal and air somewhat stagnant, fields are having a harder time drying out, farmers said. “There have been years we’ve had wet spells, but this has lingered on,” Mr. Bushman said. “This is the worst I’ve experienced.” Mr. Swartz agreed. He said he hopes 2019 is an anomaly, but late-season plantings have been the norm in recent years. “I’ve been farming 36 years and this is the first year I may not have an acre of corn. This year, we’ve never been close to getting into the field here,” Mr. Swartz said. “We hope 2019 is the year that stands out in our memories. We have had late plantings every year for years now. We need something to break that trend. We can’t have another one like this.” Source - https://www.toledoblade.com