Published: June 06, 2008 09:10 pm      

Some farmers flooded with concern

Damaged fields drench crop expectations

DANVILLE — The heavy rains Vermilion County has received in the early part of this growing season may have the opposite effect of what some might expect.

The plentiful water may actually damage this year’s corn crop.

This week, the southern part of the county had standing water in many corn fields, as the Vermilion River’s tributaries overflowed their banks.

The extent of the damage to this year’s yields is unknown at this point.

Alan Chesnut, a farmer in the Ridge Farm area, said this week the water in his fields was running off, but standing in drains.

He’s more worried about his soybean crop, which hasn’t been planted yet.

“It’s getting late,” he said. “They should be in the ground by now.”

He doesn’t foresee replanting any corn so far.

“We’re kind of waiting to see what damage is done.

“It will be a little while, but most of it will not be replanted,” he said.

“Unless we get more rain, I think most of it will survive.”

But such an outlook might not fit all areas.

Brian Neville, vice president of farm management with Old National Bank, said some of the land his clients own may need to be re-assessed for this year’s profits.

Areas in the north of the county, like Henning, Potomac or Rossville have seen some damage, he said, but the rolling nature of the ground aids in drainage.

The southern part of the county is a different story, though.

The Fairmount and Jamaica area grounds are level, so water doesn’t drain as quickly, Neville said.

Drainage ditches were overflowing into roadways around the middle of this week.

In other areas, gravel from roads was washing into the fields.

“The worst part of it is the ground is so saturated, it’s going to take a while for it to drain. That’s going to damage the crop,” he said.

Some of the corn is tall enough that it will survive, but other corn that stands in water for more than a couple days might need to be replaced.

If the county is hit with much more rain in the next day or two, some fields may be completely washed out for the season.

Replanting, however, might not be as difficult as finding the particular seed that can still produce corn for his year, Neville said.

Most of the corn planted in this area matures in 108 to 114 days.

Other corn varieties can mature in about 100 days, but the supply might be short due to a high demand and issues with the seed’s germination, Neville said.

Vermilion County Farm Bureau spokesman Tom Fricke agrees.

Areas of southern Illinois have already been hit hard and will definitely have to replant, he said.

Fricke said this week, about 50 to 70 percent of the county’s soybeans had been planted and almost all the corn was in the ground.

“Trying to find good quality (replant corn seed) this year is going to be tough,” Neville said.

“The seed industry is doing a good job of trying to jockey seed from areas that aren’t quite as wet areas where they’ll need to plat — if we get an opportunity to do that.”

The replanted corn could also have issues at harvest time, when corn needs to be at 20 to 22 percent moisture.

If its moisture level is too high, it will have to be dried at the elevators, which can get expensive, Neville added.

Last year, some climate experts were predicting a drought for this growing season.

So far, that prediction hasn’t come to pass, and in fact, drier weather is preferred this time of year.

Neville calls corn that gets a lot of moisture early in its life “lazy,” because it’s not developing a substantial root structure for later on in the summer.

“We like to see, not a drought in June, but drier weather to make the corn root down deep. If this was the end of July, we’d be smiling with this kind of rain,” he said.

“If we don’t get proper moisture at pollination time in July, the crop could be stressed.

“We’re a long way from having this crop in the bin.”