News

Crop condition ratings slipping in Ohio

As the rain continues, concerns continue to mount for farmers throughout Ohio. 

As of Sunday, June 28, the condition of both corn and soybeans declined from a week earlier. 

According to the Ohio field office of the National Ag Statistics Service (NASS), 79 percent of the Ohio corn crop was in fair-to-good condition. A week ago, 7 percent of the corn crop was in the poor to very poor category, as of Sunday, that number jumped to 14 percent. 

The condition of the Ohio soybean crop has also shown a decline, from 79 percent fair-to-good a week ago, to 77 percent in the latest report. Another five percent of the crop has dropped to the poor to very poor category. 

Kris Swartz of Wood County is one of those who has seen his crop deteriorate. 

“I got 4.3 – 4.4 inches of rain on Saturday, neighbors got anywhere between that and 5 and 6 inches, yeah, we’re struggling, it’s going to be a tough year, we’re not going to bounce back from this I’m sure,” Swartz said. “I’ve been in the field two days in the last five weeks, five weeks ago I thought my crops looked awesome, now they look awful, it’s changed a lot in five weeks.” 

33 percent of the wheat crop is mature, but harvest is only 3 percent complete, 10 points behind the average of 13 percent. 83 percent of the Ohio wheat crop is in fair-to-good condition. 

First cutting alfalfa is 50 percent complete.