Battling Mother Nature: Farmers remain optimistic despite being hampered by heavy rains this season

Unusually high amounts of rainfall in May and June have forced Southeast Missouri farmers, and farmers statewide, to plant later and plant less acreage this agricultural season.

Statewide, Missouri received average rainfalls of about 7.5 inches for May and June, which both rank in the top 15 of their respective months ever recorded in the state, according to articles written by state climatologist Patrick Guinan on the Missouri Climate Center's website.

In May, "the wet conditions limited fieldwork activity and planting opportunities across the state," Guinan wrote. "According to the Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service, 87 percent of the corn and only 23 percent of the soybean crop had been planted by the end of May, 8 percent and 34 percent behind the five-year average, respectively."

"Not only was there a lot of rain, but the timing was particularly frustrating" for area farmers, says Dr. Michael Aide, chair of the agriculture department at Southeast Missouri State University.

However, some parts of Southeast Missouri have had the inverse problem later in the agricultural season. The Malden and Charleston areas reported receiving less than 2 inches of rainfall in June, according to the MCC.

__CORN__

Floodwaters from the Diversion Channel rise on a corn field Sunday, June 21, along Highway 25 south of Dutchtown, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Despite later planting dates and less planted acreage, area farmers say their corn crop is looking good so far this season.

Jim Stuever grows corn, cotton and soybeans in Stoddard County. Despite not planting as much corn as he wanted, he says he is satisfied by how the season is going so far.

The corn on his farm "looks pretty good," Stuever says. Even though he came up short by a few acres in terms of corn planted, he says yields for this season are looking OK.

John Moreton, who grows corn, wheat and soybeans in Mississippi County near Charleston, says his cornfields are doing great.

"All of my corn looks really good," he adds.

As of 10:30 a.m. July 7, the Chicago Board of Trade listed corn at $4.17 a bushel, which is about the same price as last year, according to CNN Money.

__SOYBEANS__

Soybean farmers statewide have faced continuing planting issues stemming from recent weather patterns. As of June 28, only 62 percent of the state's soybeans had been planted, well below the five-year average of 94 percent, according to the Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service.

Farmers in the area "didn't get as much as we wanted to planted," says David Reinbott, the agribusiness director for the University of Missouri Extension in Scott County.

However, the weather in late July and August will go a long way toward determining how this year's soybean crop is going to go, Reinbott says.

Despite the planting issues, "we could still have a very good soybean crop" if the weather cooperates, Reinbott says. "We set the standard pretty high" in terms of yields last year, he adds.

As of 10:30 a.m. July 7, the Chicago Board of Trade listed soybeans at $9.82 a bushel, which represents about a 27 percent decrease from last year, according to CNN Money.

__HAY PRODUCTION__

So far this season, there has been good volume but a lower quality of hay produced in Southeast Missouri due to recent weather patterns, says David Wichern, branch manager of the MFA office in Jackson.

This season, the hay is more mature than it should be at this time of the year because of the weather, but Wichern says that isn't a big issue. There may be a "better demand for higher quality hay" in 2016, but the region "won't have to truck in any hay from other states," he says.

__FUTURE PROJECTIONS__

However, it is still unclear exactly how the 2015 agricultural season will shake out.

"A lot can happen between now [late June-early July at time of interview] and a month from now," Aide says. "In a month, there will be a more accurate picture" of how things will go, he says.

According to climate maps from the National Weather Service, Southeast Missouri has an above-average chance of having cooler than normal temperatures, but an equal chance of lighter or heavier than normal precipitation for the months of July, August and September.