Author: Chad Lee
Planning Unit: Plant and Soil Sciences
Major Program: Grain Crops
Outcome: Initial Outcome
The severely high rainfall in central and eastern Kentucky in August and September caused severe damage to soybean seed quality. The extreme weather events overwhelmed any possible management by producers to overcome the disaster. Phone calls, text messages, emails, and farm visits were conducted to assess the damage and discuss options with growers. Philip Konopka, Lewis County ANR Extension Agent, and I visited several fields in Lewis County and nearby fields in neighboring counties. (The farmer was based in Lewis and had fields in the other county. Philip communicated with the neighboring agent who was not in the county the day of our visit.) In some cases, I advised growers to harvest and sell immediately, since the seed quality was poor and storage would likely result in additional damage. In other cases, I advised farmers to not harvest at all, but to contact their insurance agent and follow their guidance. For one of the Lewis County farmers, he did not have insurance and was going to try to salvage what he could. In all cases, I reminded growers that the weather was the culprit; not management, not variety, not fungicide. The outcomes included: 1) growers who minimized economic loss as much as possible, and 2) peace of mind to growers that they personally were not at fault in this case.
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