Last year’s drought did little to slow the pace of rising farmland values and cash rents. They are up this year in a big way again, according to a Purdue University study. The drought last year sent corn and soybean prices soaring to all-time highs, which, along with crop insurance indemnities, meant better-than-expected farm incomes. …read more.

Last year, farmers didn’t have nearly enough rain for their wilted, drought-ravaged crops. So far this year, they have too much of it – so much that they can’t get into their fields to work them for planting. The stark contrast in conditions illustrates an annual, monthly and sometimes daily reality that farmers have to …read more.

One thing is certain for corn farmers in 2013, and that is the importance of risk management amid extreme uncertainty in yields and revenues, Purdue agricultural economist Chris Hurt said. Three years of below-normal corn yields and ongoing drought in the western corn belt have the potential to drive corn prices to record highs in …read more.

By Joe Kelsay Indiana Agriculture Director This year’s historical drought has provided a prime opportunity for a special focus on a most precious resource, our soil. Though we tend to think first of the extreme weather’s effect on our 2012 crop yields, its impact on feed supplies and the health of our fields could easily …read more.

Indiana’s pumpkin crop, for the most part, has fared well despite a drought that has gripped the Midwest. Consumers should have an abundance of healthy pumpkins to choose from this autumn. Initially, there were fears that the crop would not germinate properly because of the drought and heat, said Dan Egel, a Purdue Extension plant …read more.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An updated federal report shows that more than one-third of Indiana is still in at least extreme drought even though recent rainfall has improved conditions for much of the state. The new U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday says about 11 percent of Indiana is in the worst category with exceptional drought. …read more.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Recent rains have helped relieve drought conditions across parts of Indiana, although an updated federal report still lists nearly half the state in at least extreme drought. The new U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday says about 17 percent of Indiana is in the worst category with exceptional drought. That designation covers …read more.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue Extension has begun a series of regional meetings throughout the state featuring expert speakers and the opportunity for producers to share ideas with each other. The meetings are designed at helping livestock and crop producers manage their way through the financial and operational consequences of the drought. The meetings being …read more.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Despite recent rainfall across much of Indiana, the U.S. Drought Monitor update shows that some counties are still in “extreme drought.” Associate State Climatologist Ken Scheeringa said normal rainfall has returned to some areas, but precipitation has missed west central Indiana “over and over again.” The pattern is likely to continue …read more.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service continues to work to provide as much relief to drought impacted producers as possible. Today, NRCS State Conservationist Jane Hardisty announced that all Indiana counties are eligible for drought haying or grazing on land enrolled in the Floodplain Easement Program. Easement holders may voluntarily request a modification to …read more.

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (AP) — NASCAR fans visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Brickyard 400 should leave their charcoal and firewood at home. Speedway officials have imposed a ban on outdoor burning that mirrors one ordered by the town of Speedway on June 28. The ban prohibits open burning including comfort fires or campfires …read more.

Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman says 50 counties have been declared primary disaster areas, and more declarations will likely come later this week. Kosciusko County is included in the list. Despite the conditions, she doesn’t expect Governor Mitch Daniels to enact statewide water usage restrictions. Skillman, who also serves as the state’s secretary of agriculture, pointed …read more.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman has planned a news conference for today at the Indiana Farm Bureau Building in Indianapolis to discuss drought conditions. Skillman, who serves as the state’s secretary of agriculture, will discuss how farmers have been dealing with the drought and the latest developments as it relates to the industry.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — With heavy rainfall throughout much of Kosciusko County yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center has declared drought relief could be on the horizon.   The Center has moved the state out of the below-normal rainfall category for the next two weeks, but the latest U.S. Drought Monitor …read more.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal weather forecasters predict the unusually hot dry weather that has gripped much of the nation will linger into fall, especially for the parched heartland. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s outlook for August through October shows that nearly every state likely will have hotter than normal temperatures. Much of the Midwest …read more.

Bob  Carlson has pretty much seen it all in his nearly four decades at the Maxwelton Golf Club in Syracuse. He would love to see an August that is cooler and wetter. Carlson is definitely not alone there, especially among those who make their livings operating golf courses in the area. Mother Nature and this …read more.

  Farmers across the United States hoped for rain in July 2012 as a drought of historic proportions parched key commodity crops, including corn, soybeans, and wheat. On July 11, the United States Department of Agriculture announced that more than 1,000 counties in 26 states qualified as natural disaster areas—the largest total area ever declared a disaster …read more.

USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Undersecretary Michael Scuse is touring drought-stricken farms tomorrow and Thursday to survey the damage. Farmers in Indiana experienced a dry and mild spring which led to early planting in many parts of the state. Lack of rainfall and the extreme heat complicated the growing season and pollination of the …read more.

(AP) — The drought gripping the United States is the widest since 1956, according to new data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Fifty-five percent of the continental U.S. was in a moderate to extreme drought by the end of June, NOAA’s National Climactic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., said in its …read more.

South Bend, Ind. — For the first time this year, all 92 Indiana Counties are in a level of draught, according to a recent U.S. Drought Moniter update. Counties in the northeast, southwest and south-central portions of the state are in extreme drought, the second highest level. Parts of Vanderburgh and Posey Counties are now …read more.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Purdue agricultural experts say the drought that’s hitting much of the Midwest this summer will hit consumers in the pocketbook by next year. Economist Chris Hurt says food prices tend to go up whenever production decreases in a major farm state like Indiana, which he says the drought has hit hardest. Hurt …read more.

Recently the weather has been anything but a mundane, routine conversation piece. It has taken on an extremely serious tone, particularly for anyone dependent upon rainfall. Local area drought conditions are being compared to 1988, another benchmark year. Last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed Kosciusko County and other areas nearby in northern Indiana in …read more.

BIRDSEYE, Ind. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources has closed the beach at Patoka Lake Reservoir in southern Indiana because of low water levels, the fourth beach closure by the agency caused by the drought. The state earlier closed beaches at Salamonie Lake, 30 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, Mississinwea Lake near Peru, …read more.