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Abnormally dry conditions remain in parts of Michigan

A southeastern Michigan farmer says dry weather has trimmed his yield potential this season.

John Tuckerman tells Brownfield, “From east of Blissfield all the way into Monroe County crops are really suffering.”

He says the dryness has kept pest and disease issues limited, but everything from fuel to fertilizer costs more.

“Everybody says, ‘Wow, the prices are really high, you’ll make a lot of money,’ but the inputs have almost doubled,” he explains.

Tuckerman grows 1,300 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat, 200 of which is organic, in Lenawee County.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor says more than 70 percent of the state is abnormally dry or in moderate drought.

Brownfield interviewed Tuckerman during the recent Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day in Benton Harbor, Michigan.