"We have some nervous soybean farmers," said Dee Heimgartner, Crittenden County Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent, of growers waiting on double-crop beans to mature under withering conditions.
Coupled with the lack of rain, temperatures 10 degrees higher than normal in September also dried out lawns and pastures. Kentucky pastureland is suffering with 60 percent considered poor to very poor, as is 9 percent of livestock. As of Monday, 19 percent of soybeans were rated poor to very poor by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service in Louisville.
Corn, 58 percent of the which has already been harvested, is mostly faring OK.
But some specialty fall crops are taking a beating.
"The mums are suffering with the heat and drought right now," said Heimgartner. "They still are looking good, but it is taking a lot of water for irrigation. This includes the producers and homeowners who have already purchased mums."
For more on how late-season weather has affected growers and the pumpkin crop, pick up Wednesday's edition of The Crittenden Press in newsstands.
