Drought turns some crops to dust

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The drought is hitting everyone hard, especially farmers. Typically crops are still growing and forming during this time of year. The dry conditions however, have forced some farmers to call it quits.

As of June 18th, there has only been 0.06" of rain at the Fort Wayne Airport. That is 2.57" below average for the month and 7.02" below average for the year. Unfortunately some farmers have already lost their fields.

"I am told right now that there are farmers that have soy bean fields that are completely abandoned. They have crop insurance and the insurance company says the field is a total loss and it's too late to replant" said Lee Frazier. He said that he knows of a few farmers that have had to leave the fields, but is hopeful that he can salvage something from his.  "I'm still hoping for rain. My fields have emerged and I'm watching the radar all the time, hoping that I will get a rain."

What the farmers need now is rain. Not just a little shower here or there, but a good long soaking rain.

"I think a lot of us would like to see upwards of 6 to 7 inches, however spread out over a long period of time, and slowly" said Jason Landrigan of Holzinger Seed Service.

Ideally this rain would need to happen soon. The forecast however, isn’t looking good. The outlook for the end of June suggests the dry weather will continue. This could result in a very bad year for our local farmers.