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Rain, flooding impact local farmers trying to harvest

Posted at 6:02 PM, Oct 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-12 19:45:34-04

RAY COUNTY, Mo. — The rainy weather lately is impacting local farmers who are still trying to harvest crops, such as soybeans. 

The floods, combined with the drought earlier this year, is a one-two punch for agricultural producers. 

Tom Waters lives just south of Orrick, Missouri, and farms around 5,000 acres of land. While he has finished harvesting his corn, his soybeans sit ready to be harvested but can't because of the constant rain. 

"We really need them to dry out so we can get in to harvest," Waters said. 

In the past couple weeks, Waters said he's received about 11 inches of rain. He already had to deal with the drought earlier this year that caused his corn crop to decrease in value by about $50 a bushel. 

"The worst of both worlds," Waters said. 

It's gotten so bad, Waters said he's not even thinking about planting wheat. 

"I had hoped to plant wheat this fall but now it will be too wet to get any wheat in a timely fashion," he said. 

Still, the gloomy weather isn't putting a damper on his spirits. 

"Farmers find a way to bounce back," Waters said. "We’ll all plant another crop next year."