Farmers around Ohio are dealing with flooding after severe storms dumped heavy rains across much of the state. The National Weather Service says Ohio has seen an average of nearly 7 inches of rain over the past month, up from the typical monthly average of less than 5 inches. Some parts of the state have gotten as much as 10 inches.
Ohio Farm Bureau Spokesman Ty Higgins says this may just be the calm before the storm.
Lawmakers passed disaster relief legislation several weeks ago, but Higgins says that money is earmarked for states in the middle of the country.
Gov. Mike DeWine has also requested a disaster declaration from the United States Department of Agriculture. Sen. Sherrod Brown spoke with the USDA this week.
Brown met with the USDA to discuss possible solutions for farmers still reeling from the damage these floods caused. He said this is just one more problem farmers are dealing with.
“Farmers have not been able to get their crops in with any kind of success," he said. "Corn and soybean plantings are much later and much less so even if they can get their crops in in the next couple of weeks, yield will be significantly down because of the length of the growing season.”
Brown also said he believes the Trump administration needs to take a closer look at its climate policy and how it’s impacting agriculture.
