Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Thursday, July 4, 2013
(UNDATED) - The weather is cooler this Fourth of July than it was this time last year, and the year has been much wetter. That means that, for the most part, Indiana’s crops are in much better shape.
Corn remains king in Indiana, and you can see the improvement between this year and last simply by looking at a cornfield as you drive by.
79-percent of Indiana's corn crop is rated good or excellent says Chris Hurt, professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. The state's number two crop, soybeans, have also made a comeback, with 74-percent of the crop rating good or excellent.
When corn and soybeans do well, Indiana's livestock does well, since corn and soy make up a portion of the feed for cows, hogs and chickens. The high price of feed driven by last year's drought continues to put a strain on beef and pork farmers, but Hurt says that should change later this year.
Some farmers are still having a tough go because the rains have come too often.
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