As if an overabundance of rain wasn’t enough, Indiana’s crops were hit with wind, hail and lightning over the last week, according to NASS. Many areas of the state received from 2 to more than 5 inches of rain.

From April 1-July 19, the total rainfall varied from nearly 17 inches at Farmersburg in southwestern Indiana, to more than 32 inches at Leavenworth in south-central. A close-up aerial view gave Jonah Winter, merchandiser with Gavilon Grain at Shelburn, a fresh perspective on crop health last week.

“We flew out of Sullivan and covered from Casey, Illinois, to the west to Terre Haute to Cory in the east. The best corn and soybeans we saw were within two to three miles around our elevator. There is a lot of water standing in fields with nothing left of crops in river bottoms.”

Winter noted some light green to yellow corn showed a shortage of nitrogen, and did see some soybeans with good color, but the plants were short.

“My Ladoga colleague says crops near their facility look pretty good but farther west there is some ponding. An average yield is expected at harvest. Crops near Lafayette look horrible,” he said.

“And Rensselaer had 30 inches of rain in June’s 30 days. Their ground is flat with nowhere for water to go. Overall, this season is pretty consistent about having no consistency on stands.”

NASS reports winter wheat combining continued slowly, often with low-quality harvest. Some farmers were able to spray soybean fields that had been previously neglected because of wet field conditions.