News

No rain since planting

The president of the Michigan Soybean Association says it hasn’t rained on her farm since finishing planting last month.

“We are extremely dry to the point where we’re getting a little nervous about what the crops are going to look like.”

Heather Feuerstein tells Brownfield things have changed drastically after a very wet start to spring.

“We have not received rain in a very long time at this point, so we need a significant rain event,” she says.  “Our forecast is showing the possibility of rain for three days in a row and we would need all three of those days.”

Feuerstein says the forecasted rain this weekend for Ionia County however is only a 50 percent chance which is concerning for the variable stands that have emerged.

The U.S. Drought Monitor tripled the drought intensity for Michigan over the past week with nearly 60 percent of the state now experiencing abnormally dry conditions, and nearly four percent in a moderate drought.