WALTON, Ind. — For three weeks, Steve Plank watched 17 inches of rain flood his tomatoes, corn and soybeans in rural Cass County. By his estimation, his tomato crop is a total disaster, corn is stunted and beans are half the size they should be.
On July 1, the clouds parted long enough to survey the damage. Inches of water covered Plank’s tomato field. What plants were visible looked bedraggled.
Plank’s fields are similar to others in Cass County and throughout the state, which experienced record rainfall. Water rapidly filled ditches, overwhelmed drainage systems and swamped fields. On average, Indiana received a record 9 inches of rain in June, more than double the average of 4 inches for this time of year.
Northern Indiana received the brunt of the moisture, with Jasper County recording the most precipitation at 18 inches, according the Indiana State Climate Office.
Plank doesn’t need anyone to tell him his crop is a disaster, but federal disaster areas have to be declared by governors. Gov. Mike Pence visited his farm last week on a tour of Cass and Jasper counties to preview areas that may need federal disaster relief.
"I can survive one year of this, but I may not survive two to three years. It depends on how long I want to keep digging," Plank said, with a plucky smile. But he turned serious when he thought about the wider picture.
"Some younger farmers with less equity may not survive. People are not thinking far enough ahead. This will hurt the whole farm economy. Farmers aren’t going to buy machinery, shoes, pickups. This is the worst, widespread weather event since I started in 1968."
Pence said the benchmark for federal emergency is a 30 percent loss of crops on a county-by-county basis. Nine counties in Indiana, so far, have asked for disaster assistance, he said. Statewide, corn and bean production may be reduced by an estimated $475 million because of the excess rain, said Chris Hurt, an ag economist for Purdue University, who analyzed data from the June 29 USDA crop report. "From what I’m seeing today and hearing from production reports, I have to believe there are a number of Indiana counties that exceed that (30 percent) threshold and qualify for disaster relief," Pence said.
In answer to questions from local farmers, he said federal emergency relief will help with losses not covered by crop insurance and can provide low-interest loans. "It’s always difficult when neighbors are going through a difficult time, but then you see the glint in their eye and realize they’ve been through this before," Pence added.
The estimated losses this year are far short of the drought in 2012, which resulted in $1.5 billion in crop insurance payments in Indiana, according to Hurt. However, the state climate office predicts July will continue the trend of above-average precipitation and cool temperatures. Pence was joined by U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.), who promised to help process federal relief requests, state Rep. Bill Friend (R-Macy), state Sen. Randy Head (R-Logansport) and Don Villwock, president of Indiana Farm Bureau, as well as former state senator Tom Weatherwax of Logansport.
Steve Smith, ag director at Red Gold, based in Elwood, said 180 acres of company tomatoes in Cass County are washed out, which is almost 20 percent of its acreage there. "We will miss the production out of this area, but we will be able to pull more from other areas," said Smith, noting southern Indiana’s tomato crop is above average.
He added Red Gold’s growers benefit from a premium insurance policy that covers 80 percent of their losses for a variety of risks. "The investment by our growers is big. We want them to survive," he said.
