Local farmers implement practices to restore damaged crops 

NAPPANEE, Ind. -- Local Michiana farmers were not exempt from the intense spring and summer weather. They, too, suffered crop damage. Brent Reed, 5th Generation farmer from Reed Family Farms in Elkhart County, tends to over 100 acres of land. 

This year, he's noticed flood damage among his corn and soybean crops, leaving some sections with nothing to harvest. Because the effects of the flooding couldn't be seen until later, it was too late to replant. 

He says July 3 was the worst rain event of the year, receiving up to four inches of rainfall in just a few hours. Other fields south of his received up to seven inches.

"It just made for a lot of ponding where I haven't even seen ponding before," Reed recounts.

Soggy weather continued through late summer and early fall, resulting in unfavorable soil conditions for some crops to finish growing. This pushed the harvest schedule back by about two weeks. Reed says he hopes to finish harvesting before Thanksgiving. 

Thankfully, growers implement field practices to salvage damaged crops. Reed is grateful for the dry weather recently; however, he needs a little extra help to dry the crops.

"We had to buy either LP or natural gas to dry it," Reed explains. 

This speeds up the drying process, so the harvesting pace isn't delayed too much. Though it's a popular practice among farmers, some worry that high gas expenses will continue to rise as they fill up their tractors

However, Reed doesn't have to worry about that this time of year. He says Reed Farms is a no-till farm, which limits excess spending on fuel. Despite weather challenges and increasing fuel prices, Reed is still optimistic that next year's crop will perform better.