We are the lucky ones. We finished planting our corn and beans last week. We started here April 29th in a good year we can be done in 2 weeks. As June fast approaches I am thankful for our planting season is over as much the the United States struggles to finish, start, or accept the fact that there will be no planting and no harvest this year for them. I know some farms out west "mudded" in a few acres. Mudding in is exactly what it sounds like just planting in mud
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Do we carry insurance? Yes. Farmers are able to use insurance for preventative planting meaning they can not put their crop in the field. We want to plant we do not want to take an insurance claim. Crop insurance is based off the yields from the past 10 years and an average is taken from there. Imagine if every year you totaled your car, insurance works the same way for us.
For many farmers mental health becomes a huge struggle. Is this our job? Yes, but it is also our livelihood. In one forum a fellow farmer said they struggle to take the emotions out of not being able to plant. It is all we know. Not to mention for those feeding livestock with their crops. No crops mean no food for your animals. 2018 was also a hard year for livestock production due to feed shortage. Many farmers ran out of feed this spring and were counting on a better year. Dairy was greatly affected by this because of low milk prices and having to buy feed is a large production cost when you can not buy your own feed.
There are many farms who contract their crops. If they do not make the yield or production they contracted they must buy out the contract. This has historically sent many farms bankrupt in the past. I could go on about the many negative effects of this unfortunate disaster occurring.
So how does this all affect you the consumer? You eat. If the consumer enjoys an affordable products in the grocery and production is down on beef, dairy, corn, soybeans etc you can expect this to affect your wallet as well. Agriculture puts billions into our economy.
Planting Season 2019
Kelly Vaughan