The
storms that swept through the region on June 20 devastated many acres of crops. Now, farmers must decide if they should replant their acres that didn’t weather the storm.
In Steele County, corn and soybeans are becoming the dominating crop, with dry beans still popular as well. Megan Vig, NDSU Extension agriculture and natural resources agent, is concerned about all three commodities after the storm. Small grains also were impacted by hail in the area.
“Steele County is tough. We've had a number of producers with severe crop loss. There's crop loss all across the board, a lot of structural damage, devastation to grain storage, quite a few bins just ripped apart or two miles away. It's tough, and stress is real,” Vig said. “We know that our ag producers are resilient, but they are under a lot of stress right now. It's a heavy loss.”
Farmers who have decided to pull the trigger and replant or assess their farm’s damage have been working with their insurance agents. But even if they get the green light that it makes sense financially to replant the acres, producers are now at the mercy of time.
While the region is sitting pretty average when it comes to growing degree days, it will be crucial that the weather is favorable to foster the newly replanted crops.
“The rest of the year is gonna have to play out very well for replants to finish where they need to be at this point. So it’s a concern,” Jade Albrecht with Peterson Farms Seed said.
Albrecht believes when it comes to damaged corn acres, the best thing to do is plant soybeans in its place or some sort of cover crop. He said it's too late in the game to see a desirable corn crop come harvest time if it is just now being planted. He also advises farmers to plant early maturity seeds, as they have the best chance of making it to harvest time in a favorable condition, despite being planted so late in the season.
For those who have decided to replant, they are busy in the fields when the weather is cooperating, but there are many acres to go.
“I don't know if that's going to happen quite yet, but I would say at least that 30 to 40% of Steele County could be a consideration for replant,” Vig said.