Cedar Rapids Weather
Farmer Compares 2012 Drought to Late 1980'sBy Addison Speck, Reporter
LINN COUNTY, Iowa - Severe drought conditions are cooking Iowa's corn and soybeans. For some farmers, these conditions remind them of what they faced 24 years ago. Rainfall in May, June and July of this year are comparable to the spring and summer of 1988.
Denny Sejkora is one of those farmers. This year is not his first dance with a drought. "If it weren't for federal crop insurance we'd probably be out of business. It kept us going in '88 and '89 and actually that was a double whammy, two years in a row," said Sejkora. This year, like every year, he works through the heat, hoping his crops will do the same. "It's been so dry a good rain would take care of our problems but were not likely to get that so we will have to use insecticides," said Sejkora. Rain levels from the summer months of 1988 and 2012 are nearly identical. But this time around, Sejkora is confident more his crops will survive. "This year with a little bit dryer spring and our moisture spread out in little amounts periodically, I think we've had a lot better root development," said Sejkora. He also said that there’s better seed technology now, allowing crops to withstand this type of weather for a longer period of time. "These crops really, for as dry as it's been, really have good health," added Sejkora. While more crops may survive the 2012 drought, Sejkora prays for rain just as much as he did back in 1988. "Pray for rain, do a rain dance, whatever works," said Sejkora. |
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