Corn is about to be pollinated, and farmers say the lack of rain isn't a good thing
GAYLORD, MI -- Right now, if you ask any farmer in the Gaylord area, they're hoping this weather system drops buckets.
A farmer we talked to today says it's been more than a month since he's seen significant rainfall.
The Prusakiewicz Farm in Gaylord has hardly received the amount of rain it needs, in fact, the tallest stalks are only seven feet tall, about half of what it was last year.
"This here corn was about 14.5 feet and now it's seven foot, not good. Hopefully we get some cobs out of it, that'll help us," explained Ernie Prusakiewicz.
On August 4th a year ago, a dated picture of Prusakiewicz’s corn speaks volumes. It is an example of the bumper corn crop that produced big yields. This year, heat and the lack of rain have stunted corn growth and the yellow leaves you see aren't a good sign.
“This little sprinkle, it's better than nothing, we'll take every little bit of it," said Prusakiewicz.
With the stalks wanting to produce cobs, it's crunch time and rain needs to fall.
"If we are hot and dry during that time during pollination, it's not a good thing, and we have some corn in our area that's in that period of time, and we could, we will likely see some of those ears not growing as they should," said Antrim County MSU Extension Dairy Educator Stan Moore.
Moore says because July was so dry in parts of Northern Michigan, the size of corn has been affected. It will mean smaller corn cobs. But rain can still help the outcome.
“It probably won't make up for all of the loss, but obviously if you don't get it, you're headed towards catastrophe, so it'll definitely help out with the growth," said Moore.
Ernie Prusakiewicz says he could go for a good monsoon.
“With no corn growing and no moisture, it hurts, and I guess I don't know what the real answer is? Don't farm?" Prusakiewicz laughed.
Last year's crop produced 12 inch pieces of corn. It was a pretty good turnout. Will it be that this year? Probably not, but farmers are hoping to salvage something out of their crop.
A lot of farmers grow corn for silage and right now, the price to buy it is high.
Farmers tell us if the corn does not produce, the price of their cattle will increase, which could mean higher prices in the grocery store.
