LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The recent weather in mid-Michigan has been nothing short of turbulent, leaving local farmers on edge.
After a weekend of storms, the region continues to endure blazing heat, and without more rain soon, crops are at significant risk.
“We can’t control Mother Nature,” says Brett Roberts, a farmer from Eaton County. “We just have to continue to do what we’re gonna do, and luckily, we got some rain on Sunday night to help the crops from stressing too much.”
Unfortunately, there’s little that farmers can do to prepare for the worst.
“You hope. Mother Nature, right? Unless you have a way to water it, you have to wait for rain or a cool down,” Roberts explains.
While the heat presents a significant challenge, farmers are somewhat relieved that the majority of farm work involves less manual labor during this time.
“Right now, the vast majority of farm work, the crop is growing,” says Roberts. “There are some activities like putting fertilizer and other things, but that’s done with machines.”
According to the source, the heat brings another concern: a surge in insects and pests.
“So you actually go out and count bugs on leaves,” Roberts notes. “When you get to a certain threshold of insects, then generally you would come in and treat, so you’d use a pesticide to do that.”
Modern advancements in agriculture provide some respite. Thanks to selective breeding, today’s crops are better equipped to handle extreme environmental conditions.
“The corn that we are planting today versus what we planted even ten years ago handles the weather better,” Roberts says.
Despite these advancements, there is still a long summer ahead, and the potential for something to go wrong remains high.
“It’s handling this heat wave. The next one might be a whole different story,” Roberts remarks. “There’s no way around it. The good old saying on the hay side is ‘You make hay when the sun shines.'”
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