INDIANAPOLIS — Weeks of record rainfalls drenched Don Lamb’s cornfields this summer, drowning some plants and leaving others yellowed, 2 feet tall and capable of producing little, if any, grain.
The 48-year-old central Indiana farmer can’t recall anything like the deluges he’s seen from late May on this summer; the latest was a 4-inch downpour a week ago. Neither can his father, who’s been farming for 50 years.
“I always try to stay optimistic about crops, but this is a year where it’s been really tough to be optimistic,” said Lamb, who began farming in 1989 near Lebanon, Indiana.
Corn damaged by record rains that repeatedly submerged fields, stands in a field near Atlanta, Ind., Friday, July 31, 2015. AP Photo/Michael Conroy
