This past summer, I was able to drive through the Midwest and was shocked and saddened by the vast amounts of corn, soybean and wheat fields that were already dried out in early summer from no rain. Having experienced the severe drought the previous year, I knew what farmers and ranchers were going through. I spoke with one gentleman in Illinois who was feeding his cattle in a feedlot because there wasn’t enough grass to last the summer.
This story is the same for most producers up and down the Midwest. Now that the election is over, agriculturalists hope lawmakers will begin focusing on issues facing their industry. The big two are the drought and the lack of a new farm bill.
In this week’s video blog, we take a look at those two topics and how farm broadcasters feel about them and what they are doing to speak up for agriculture.
Andy Barth
I think that I’m more worried than even last year about this upcoming year. Evidently, the widespread reporting of El Nina is fairly dire. I’m worried about our state, about the agricultural crops and animals, and even the smaller producers. Water is essential, and it appears that the weather won’t be providing much at all.
The drought combined with a late frost after a warm March was double-whamy on the area. The late frost killed over 90% of the apple crop this year.