SWANTON, Ohio — Despite inconsistent weather this planting season, it looks like area crops will be just fine.
While there were fairly dry conditions for planting corn and soybeans locally, northwest Ohio also had drought conditions for three weeks in June. Then, add six inches of rain in July, which is twice the normal amount. Now, as corn is pollinating, it really needs the moisture.
Bill Buckenmeyer is a third-generation farmer and plants 4,800 acres around Lucas and Fulton counties. In spite of the two extremes this growing season, he says the corn this year has tall, strong stalks. But when it comes to the corn itself, getting the right weather at the right time will be key.
“Corn is using the most water that it uses throughout its season during pollination,” Buckenmeyer said. "When we got this latest rain, it was ideal timing due to the fact that a lot of the corn was starting to pollinate just getting into that 90-degree weather. So, fortunately at that time, we got some rain. Otherwise coming into that 90-degree weather and pollination, things were getting dry again."
According to Buckenmeyer, one huge help was a spring without hard, pounding rain and cool temperatures. When there's a hard rain, it's a washout for planting. Farmers have to plant their fields twice some years, Buckenmeyer said, but not in 2023.
Unlike the last few years when April and May have been less than ideal, this year has been near-perfect for crops.
But it's a good news-bad news scenario. While production costs have gone down this year, one problem is still out there, Buckenmeyer said. As corn crops are looking really good in the Midwest, corn prices have been falling and currently sit at just around $5 a bushel.