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Rain in the Miami Valley causing problems for farmers, crops

The persistent rain the Miami Valley over the past couple of weeks is causing problems for area farmers.

Most farms have saturated soil, and even with a couple of sunny days, it’s still not enough for farmers to get out in the field and plant their crops.

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With more rain in the forecast, it continues to push back when farmers are able to work which will also impact how much corn and soy beans can be produced.

Farmer Matt Hundley said he typically needs a week of no rain to allow the ground to dry out enough to begin work.

“I would be really nervous if I farmed 1,000 to 2,000 acres and this was my income and my livelihood.”

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On average, if farmers aren’t able to plant until May 20, they’ll only get about 90 percent of what their farm is capable of producing.

Hundley says if you have crop insurance, you shouldn’t plant corn past June 6.

“You can take what’s called preventative planning where you don’t plant anything. You don’t really get a full income, but hopefully you cover enough of your land rent to pay rent and some of your other bills to kind of skate by to next year.”

Even with all the rain predicted, farmers are still hopeful that we’ll have enough good weather to get to work.

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