Liberty Township experienced 20.01 inches of rain during the 2019 growing season, according Phil Epley, township reporter for the Hardin County Extension Office.
The growing season is from April 15 to Oct. 15. And, while 2019 was a wet year, Liberty Township farmers experienced the lowest recorded rainfall of any Hardin township.
The chart at the bottom of this story compares all townships.
Mark Badertscher, extension agent, puts the wet year for farmers in the following context:
With the help of 15 volunteer rainfall reporters, the Hardin County Extension office has collected unofficial township rainfall data for the past 27 consecutive years.
Heavy April rainfall
The 2019 growing season began with a heavy April rainfall that set the precedent for the planting season. Rains continued to be heavy and persistent through May and June. Favorable planting weather for corn and soybeans to be planted in Hardin County did not happen until late June with wet soils and cool temperatures keeping farmers out of the fields for the most part.
Because of the late June start for many farmers, corn was planted a month later than normal. Many farmers decided to not plant corn on planned acres and took prevented planting insurance instead. Others switched planned corn ground to soybean, which continued to be planted into July.
Other farmers decided not to plant much of their soybean crop and took prevented planting insurance on those fields. Some producers who did not have crop insurance ended up planting their fields late with reduced yields. Weeds thrived in unplanted fields which created a new problem for area producers. Most of the prevented planted fields were later sprayed for weeds, tilled, or mowed to manage this issue and prevent them from going to seed.
Several unplanted fields were then planted to cover crops to help manage the weed issue and recycle nutrients that were not being used by a cash crop. Because of late planting, forages were harvested much later than normal, increasing tonnage but decreasing feed quality.
Weather stabilized in July
The weather stabilized in July with rainfall amounts being closer to normal. Temperatures finally warmed up, allowing for late planted crops to grow. Wheat was harvested with lower than average yields because of the wet fall and spring, however grain quality was good at harvest time and limited discounts at the market for grain quality.
Forages continued to be harvested and livestock producers were finally able to haul manure on fields after experiencing limited opportunities previously because of the wet fall and spring. Soybean and corn fields started to look good in July but were a month behind on the calendar. Pollination and seed set occurred a month later pushing maturity dates further into the fall.
Weed issues were less than normal in several planted fields as compared to years when crops were planted earlier in the spring. Hardin County was second to only Wood County in the state for having the most acres of prevented planting fields because of the consistent rains of April, May, and June.
August-October drier than normal
August, September, and October proved to be drier months than normal. This caused corn fields to produce smaller ears, soybean plants to grow shorter with less pods, and hay fields to produce smaller cuttings.
The first half of October brought an average of 0.41 inches of rain to the county, which is below the ten-year average of 1.43 inches. The least amount of rainfall in the first half of October was 0.00 inches reported by Phil Epley in Liberty Township. Blanchard Township was also very dry with only 0.02 inches reported by Nutrien Ag Solutions. Randy Preston reported 0.65 inches of rain in Washington Township for the same time period.
1.43 inchres above the 10-year average
During the growing season, from April 15 through October 15, average rainfall was 26.11 inches, which made 2019 a wet year. This is 1.43 inches above the 10-year average growing season precipitation, and 0.84 more inches of rain than last year’s growing season. The difference was that this season’s rainfall was heavy in the early part of the season and light in the late part of the season.
The most rainfall recorded during the growing season was 29.65 inches in Marion Township by Mark Lowery. The least rainfall in the county was recorded in Liberty Township by Phil Epley, with 20.01 inches for the season.
Marion Township’s growing season rainfall was 4.97 inches higher than the normal average rainfall in Hardin County as measured over the past t10 years.
Soybean yields were lower this year across the county, however better than many producers expected. The soybean crop was harvested at low moisture and small seed size in several fields.
Although early planted corn yields looked promising, most fields yielded much lower than a typical year. Moisture levels in corn ended up being high in several fields, which further cut into profitability when drying costs were calculated. Overall, corn yields have been varied depending on planting dates, maturity, and other factors.
Winter wheat acres and cover crops planted this fall are off to a very good start with early planting due to prevented planting fields being available and fall weather favorable to field work.
Herbicide, fertilizer, lime, and manure applications have happened in some fields. Much fall tillage has occurred around the county with some cornfields still waiting to be harvested after later maturity and slow dry down of grain.
