Farm bridge and stately oak join crops as victims of volatile spring weather
From the Farm Spring 2019 weather has not been kind to farmers.
Cool weather combined with too much rain has farmers stuck in muddy fields attempting to plant crops.
Ripped from the headlines, international tariffs threatening grain prices and uncertain promises of government intervention have everyone in the field of agriculture nervous.
Investment of time, as well as today’s extreme cost for everything from seed to fertilizer create an uneasy environment for today’s farmers. Planted seed trapped in rain-saturated fields will rot before germination. Late planted crops also fail to mature in time for the most optimistic harvest timeline.
According to the USDA report this week, only 49% of corn fields across the country have been planted so far in the Midwest, compared to 92% a year ago at this time, setting an all-time record for the slowest pace to date. In Indiana, only 14% of corn has been planted, with Illinois farmers reporting only 24% of their corn planted. Both states report less than 10% of soybeans have been planted thus far.
Added to this looming cloud of concern is a Memorial Day Weekend weather forecast with rain and storms predicted throughout next week.
This month’s stormy weather and high winds have wreaked havoc for our own family farm and neighboring farmers. My oldest sister Carol’s farm ground near Culver faced torrent winds last week resulted in upturned and twisted irrigators and mangled pipe discovered by her twin sons, Bobby and Billy, who farm their ground. A neighboring goat farmer had a barn destroyed resulting in loss of livestock.
At our farm, a favorite symbolic constructed design of my father’s engineering was twisted by the same violent storm winds that also uprooted a century-old stately Black Oak tree anchored along our ditch bank. Right beside this majestic oak was a beloved footbridge my dad constructed in 1983 with the help of my Uncle Swede.
Located near our farm mailbox, the bridge allowed access to the adjacent fields. My older sister Pam reminded me one of the reasons our dad built this bridge decades ago was to allow an easy access for our snowmobile during the winter months.
The before and after photos published with this column show the devastation from last week’s storm.
This bridge has been written about many times in previous columns, including a favorite Father’s Day column I wrote in June 2016.
Like the spirit of Memorial Day recollections and the departed names and faces from the past, many wonderful memories still remain connected to both the bridge and this oak tree which provided an expansive canopy of both shade and beauty.
Growing up, many hours were spent playing along this bridge (and under it wading through the waters) with our farm neighbors Ann and Amy Scamerhorn, who were equally saddened by last week’s storm damage.
Amy, who is a high school teacher living in Indianapolis returns home to visit often, and over Easter, she shared a wonderful easy recipe for a delicious breakfast casserole. Anyone with holiday guests this weekend will appreciate this recipe, which is assembled the night before, refrigerated and then conveniently heated in the morning to serve and enjoy.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published three cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, P.O. Box 68, San Pierre, IN 46374.