Stay Informed

Indiana farmers have experienced a soggy start to the 2022 planting season – but that is not the case in many other parts of the country.

          As of early June, more than half of the country – basically everything west of North Dakota, Iowa and Missouri, plus much of Louisiana – was in some stage of drought, mostly “severe,” “extreme” or “exceptional.”

          “The current multi-year drought across the West is the most extensive and intense drought in the 22-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor,” according to a report issued by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

          While the eastern Corn Belt is likely to continue with a weather pattern similar to what it has experienced so far this growing season, some experts are predicting that the drought could move into the western Corn Belt as the summer progresses, said Andy Tauer, INFB’s executive director of public policy.

          “Markets have already been hit by a number of shocks,” Tauer said. “If that prediction holds firm and we see drought moving into the western Corn Belt, that’s going to complicate the issue even more. It all has the opportunity to contribute to global food insecurity,” he added.

          Meanwhile, in the eastern Corn Belt, wet conditions have slowed planting, possibly affecting yields as well as increasing the potential for crop diseases.

          “But if we have a good crop to sell, the drought should create marketing opportunities,” he added.