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Indiana farmer says 2019 season is unlike any other

A northeastern Indiana farmer says out of nearly 4,000 acres he only planted about 400 acres this year.

Mark Roemke grows corn and soybeans in Allen County.

“The heart of the farmer is to get everything planted, but we eventually accepted the fact that’s all there was,” he says. “Thank god for prevent plant insurance— it isn’t going to take care of everything but it sure does help.”

Harvest is underway on his farm. Roemke says yields for soybeans are a little below average.

“The first day of harvest I averaged 58.6. Yesterday it was a little poorer ground that we farm in Ohio that’s always below average, but it was still 54,” he says. “So as late as I planted, I’m pretty happy with the yield.”

He says although the season has been challenging, it allowed him to complete fieldwork he normally wouldn’t have time for.

“I worked the ground and leveled it and planted cereal rye,” he says. “I’m also getting some tiling done which was always hard for us for corn and soybean rotation in the fall.”

He tells Brownfield in his nearly 50 years of farming, he’s never seen a growing season like this.

Audio: Mark Roemke, Indiana farmer