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Weather creating challenges in NW Ohio

An Ohio State Extension educator says the warm start to the spring followed by the cool, wet weather has presented farmers in northwest Ohio with some challenges.

Mark Badertscher estimates just 10 to 20 percent of the corn crop in Hardin County has been planted.  “The corn that is in the gorund has not emerged yet,” he says.  “It’s going to take some warmer temperatures and soils are going to need to dry out a little bit.  The concern right away shifts to whether or not the corn is going to emerge properly and what kind of stands are we going to have.”

He tells Brownfield farmers that haven’t done herbicide burndown or pre-emergence treatments may have to make modifications to their program.  “Even though the temperatures are cool and the ground is wet the weeds continue to grow,” he says.  “We’re seeing the weeds getting larger and more of them appearing in the fields.”

While planting progress has been slow in his part of the state, he says farmers further south have fared better and are much further along.

AUDIO: Mark Badertscher, OSU Extension Hardin County