‘It is not a good time to be a farmer:' Northeast Ohio crops critically suffering due to continuous rain

Flooding at farms

A machine works in a sodden field at Little Ireland Farm (Kevin O'Reilly)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Little Ireland Farm normally finishes planting 750 acres of crops across Portage and Geauga counties by June 1.

This year, owner Kevin O’Reilly and his employees spent most of his spring just waiting, and preparing for a gap in the rain. They finished planting the corn crop last week, but only just started on the soybeans. He’s got about 350 acres to go.

“There’s been days in the barn when we just stood there and watched it rain,” said O’Reilly, of Middlefield. “In a way we keep our equipment the way the fire department keeps their fire trucks. We’re constantly testing it, checking it, making sure it’s ready so when the time is right and we can go, we’re ready to go.”

Farmers nationwide are experiencing delays in their crops, but Ohio is the second-hardest hit state, behind Indiana. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the state’s crops were 80 percent planted by May 26. This year, the state was at 22 percent.

“It is not a good time to be a farmer right now,” Ohio Farm Bureau spokesman Joe Cornely said. “There is a lot of stress out there.”

Constant rain, empty fields

Cleveland’s rainfall is about 3 inches higher than average this year, according to the National Weather Service. But the problem isn’t total amount of rain. It’s that it has rained on more days. It rained about 58 percent of the spring days this year, a first since the 1940s.

The rain stops farmers from working outside, washes away planted crops, damages growing plants and prevents the soil from drying out, which can lead to machines getting stuck.

Northeast Ohio wasn’t hit as heavily as Northwest Ohio, where it’s estimated that area farmers have only been able to plant around 10 percent of their crops, according to the Toledo Blade.

O’Reilly cited Ohio State University agriculture research which shows each day corn is planted past May 5, you lose half a bushel of product. He calculates at this point Little Ireland has lost about 150 bushels of corn. Right now, with just corn planted, the farm isn’t at a point where it would turn a profit this year.

There is a back-up plan for farmers when unanticipated events happen: crop insurance. “Prevented planting” insurance covers farmers when they can’t get their crops in the ground. There are deadlines for claiming the insurance, though, and complications with national trade might affect some farmers’ decisions in whether to plant.

International trade, local consequences

President Donald Trump’s trade war with China is putting pressure on farmers, to the point where Trump promised $12 million in payouts to help those affected.

The federal payouts, though, are based on how many acres are planted, a problem when the fields are too flooded to plant anything, said Ohio Farm bureau spokesman Joe Cornely.

Farmers are stuck choosing between planting to try and get reimbursement from the government or depending on their planted planning insurance coverage, both less than ideal.

“Farmers are smart folks, they can figure it out, but they don’t have all the numbers. You can’t do the math if you can’t do all the numbers," Cornely said.

O’Reilly said his farm specifically grows soybeans for the tofu market, and buyers in Japan are pulling out of the market because of Trump. There’s no way to make an adjustment for this year -- the farm already bought all its seeds, fertilizer and equipment.

“I want to trust our representatives in Washington to do the right thing," O’Reilly said. "The policies that the president and his supporters have negatively implemented us to no fault of our own. I also know there’s so many other things involved in political games in Washington that right now I don’t have a whole lot of confidence that any money that they might pay to farmers is really going to help.”

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