Indiana crops 'less than bountiful'

After a growing season in which the rain never seemed to fall at the right time, Indiana farmers are finishing up a less-than-bountiful harvest.\nThis year's corn crop is expected to decline 30 percent compared with last year's record harvest, with the soybean crop declining by 15 percent, the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service said.\nNearly ideal harvest-season conditions have been about the only positive thing farmers can point to from 2002, said Steve Wilson, deputy statistician for the Purdue University-based agency.\nRecent rain has been light enough to allow farmers to finish bringing in crops, yet substantial enough to leave the soil sufficiently moist in advance of the next planting, Wilson said.\n"The soil moisture condition is improving for the planting of winter wheat, and we'll carry that soil moisture through to next spring's planting as well," he said.\nAbout 90 percent of Indiana's corn had been harvested through the end of last week, with 96 percent of the soybeans in, the statistics service said.\nHarvests of those crops are slightly ahead of last year's pace despite heavy spring rains that left many fields too wet for planting, causing delays. Warm, dry weather in late June and July allowed young plants to mature quickly, making up for lost time, Wilson said.\nBut that helpful dry spell persisted and extended into a summer-long drought, leaving fields parched and leading to forecasts of small harvests.\nIn contrast, Indiana farmers last year enjoyed record harvests and yields for corn and soybeans that pushed the value of Indiana crops up six percent.\nIn September, Purdue agricultural economists forecast a decline of around 40 percent in 2002. \nIndiana corn production this year is expected to total nearly 617 million bushels, down from nearly 885 million a year ago, the statistics service said.\nThe expected yield of 117 bushels per acre is 25 percent below last year's and nearly 16 percent below the average for the previous five years.\nCorn yields varied widely, with farmers in western, central and northwestern Indiana seeing yields at or slightly below average. The rest of the state was hit harder by fickle weather, with the south-central Indiana recording an average yield of 78 bushels per acre, the lowest among nine regions.\nProduction of soybeans, Indiana's No. 2 crop, is forecast at 233 million bushels, 15 percent below last year. The statewide yield is forecast at 41 bushels per acre, down from 49 a year ago.\nMeanwhile, grain prices have rebounded from a year ago, in part because of this year's smaller crops.\nIndiana farmers received an average price of $2.42 last month for a bushel of corn, up from $1.83 a year ago. Soybean growers received an average $5.21 a bushel in October, up from $4.17 a year ago.\nAlthough the price increases are not expected to make up for the drop in yields, farmers can get help. Last month, the federal government approved Indiana officials' request for disaster assistance that will permit farmers in 74 of the state's 92 counties to apply for low-interest emergency loans for crop and livestock losses. Farmers in 13 counties adjacent to the disaster counties can also seek help.