Farmers have been keeping one eye on the sky and the other on their phone’s weather app, hoping the two agree as they try to dodge showers and complete their fieldwork in Ohio. Heavy rains continued to halt work across the state and as a result, farmers only had about 1.5 days of good weather for it. Soil moisture continues to range from adequate to surplus for both topsoil and subsoil conditions.

More farmers are reporting prevented planting acres and failed crops because of ponding and flooding caused by creeks and rivers cresting their banks.

Heavy rains and poor drying conditions also present challenges for farmers trying to make dry hay. First-cutting hay continues to trail last year by about 12-26 percent in much of the state, while second-cutting hay is about 20 percent behind last year at this time.

Later harvests mean fewer cuttings of hay for the year and may impact inventories and prices later in the winter. Hay crops range from good to average in most areas of the state and fair to poor in other parts due to weather conditions.

Delayed harvests also affect forage quality, according to Ohio State University extension educator Rory Lewandowski, as he told farmers at the Wayne County Dairy Twilight Tour. His comments came after a heavy shower drove those attending the tour to seek shelter. He suggests producers check the forage quality of their hay, as it has been a challenge to harvest high-quality hay so far this year.

Crops are progressing normally for this time of year, with soybeans blooming and starting to set pods, and about half of the state’s corn crop in the silking stage. Most of the corn and soybean crops are in good to fair condition, although in some areas that have received torrential rainfall, they are yellow and show signs of severe stress.  Most pasture across the state is in fair to good condition.

But the wet, rainy weather can increase disease pressure on crops. Lewandowski said scouts for the IPM program have been checking fields for gray leaf spot and found it on 75-95 percent of plants. As a result, yields could be off by as much as 50-60 percent. He said an application of fungicide would be beneficial to help stop the disease.

About half of the state’s winter wheat crop has been harvested and it has had low test weights and high moisture content, and the majority ranges from good to poor condition. In some areas, the wheat is in such poor condition it is not able to be sold for processing.

Lewandowski said the main issues with the 2015 crop are sprouted grain and scabby wheat. Sprouted grain still has good value as a livestock feed, but the big issue is the risk of it possibly containing mycotoxins. This is true for scabby wheat as well.

There are a number of mycotoxins that can be associated with scabby wheat, and possibly sprouted wheat, which can cause animal health issues.