With several days of rain having dominated the early part of April, Vermilion County farmers will certainly not have an early planting season in 2025. But Tom Fricke of the Vermilion County Farm Bureau doubts if anyone is hanging their head too much. Because after all, moisture was needed, period.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Guys are always ready to get going once the calendar turns to April. But at the same time, we were still in a moderate draught condition. So, getting some moisture is going to be good and beneficial in the long run. Yes, it will delay being able to get in the fields and get the planting done. But as long as it doesn’t continue like this for the next three weeks, we’ll see some opportunities to get some field work caught up.
Fricke says with all the variety of different rainstorms the county has seen, it’s hard to say if one part took in particularly more than the other. But this extra moisture that has arrived will likely, despite a later planting season, have a lot of farmers feeling thankful this coming fall, and well before then as well.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Not only at harvest time. I mean, you get into the hot weather of July and August, you thank the Lord that you’ve had enough moisture throughout the year to keep the crop going.
Fricke says, simply put, it doesn’t take as long to plant as it used to. In a small window of ideal weather, a lot of acres can be covered.
