This year, the National Corn Growers Association launched its tenth season of Field Notes, a series that takes readers behind the farm gate to follow the year in the life of American farm families. While these growers come from diverse geographic areas and run unique operations, they share a common love for U.S. agriculture and the basic values that underpin life in farming communities.
Now, the series is being presented in an exciting new format that features reports in a short format with insight and provides a real picture of American farm life through visuals.
“We are hot, dry, and begging for rain. We’ve had a few pop-up showers in the area, but our farm hasn’t had rain since a week ago Saturday. With temperatures in the 90s, we are really cooking. I don’t think that the damage to our corn crop is critical yet, but it looks stressed with leaves that roll in the afternoon. As we near pollination, a popup storm this week would improve the situation substantially. We really need that to keep this crop going.”
– Patty Mann, Ohio farmer
“It has been in the 90s for the past ten days, and the forecast says it will almost 100 for the next ten. It hasn’t rained for more than a week, and there’s only the slightest chance it will in the foreseeable future. Honestly, this is the driest year since 2012. On the dryland corners, the corn is only two-foot-tall and rolled up like an onion plant. Thankfully, our farm has good pivots and deep wells. It is hard to keep up under these conditions with just irrigation though. We could really use some rain.”
– Andy Jobman – Nebraska farmer
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