Heavy rains last week again kept farmers out of fields, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Great Lakes regional office. Only 1.8 days were suitable for fieldwork for the week ending July 7. Wheat and hay are over-mature in some areas.

Butler County farmer Dan Martin said his corn and soybeans looked relatively good, considering the rain. “We’ve got a yellow spot here and there, like everybody, where there has been standing water,” he said. “Other than that we’re pretty fortunate compared to a lot of people in the surrounding area.”

Martin’s hay is late, and it has been a problem getting it made, he said. Typically they would be finishing the second cutting now. Instead, they are finishing the first. “It’s been a struggle,” he said. “The hay is okay; it is nothing fantastic.”

Overall, the crops looked good. Martin was able to get the crops planted early, and that helped, he said. Later-planted crops seem to be struggling more.

Crop progress, according to the report, has 20 percent of corn silking, compared to 27 percent for the five-year average. Soybeans blooming are at 32 percent, above the 29 percent five-year average and last year’s average of 20 percent.

Winter wheat harvested is at 38 percent, down from 70 percent, the five-year average. First cutting of alfalfa hay is 77 percent completed, versus 99 percent last year. First cutting of other hay is 58 percent completed, while last year it was 94 percent completed.

Berry producers are happy – they have not had to irrigate. But livestock producers are reporting muddy pastures, causing joint stress on animals as well as damage to the fields.

“Hay quality has plummeted, dry weather and sunshine are needed so farmers can bale dry hay,” the report concluded.