Rainy Monday

VINCENNES, IND. (WTHI) -      A  rainy Monday is a welcome sight for the drought stricken Wabash Valley.

     Farmers received a slow drenching rain on their fields that started Sunday night.

     The much needed rain though did nothing to help the outlook for the corn crop and little for the soybeans.

     The drought has already taken its toll on fields in the Wabash Valley.

     Some have already been chopped down and they will produce no corn crop this year.

     The rain that soaked the area may have provided a relief from the drought but it did nothing to help the corn crop.

     "We've been getting a few rains here lately," said Knox County Extension Agent Valerie Clingerman.  "For the corn it's not going to make any difference."

     When it comes to corn about the only thing the rain did was put a stop to the harvest that is already beginning and has farmers trying to salvage something out of a miserable looking crop.

     There's an old saying on the farm that July rains make corn and August rains make beans.

  While it's definitely too late to help the corn the question now is, did this rain do anything to help the beans.

     "With soybeans these late rains could help," said Clingerman.  "It might not help depending on your planting date and soil types.  It depends on a lot of factors."

     Right now, first crop beans appear to be doing pretty well.

     The pods are set and even though the drought has hurt them some, they may yet produce a fair yield.

     Second crop beans though are still struggling.

     Many fields were never able to get established after they were planted and are still a long way from producing anything.

     So while the rain may have been welcome on the farm the reality is it won't off-set the long drought.

     The rain did lessen the fire danger some, but all of the Indiana counties in the Wabash Valley except Greene County continue to have burn bans in place.