COLUMBUS, Ohio — As of Friday, most of Ohio and the farmers who live here were affected by “abnormally dry” and “moderately dry“ weather.
Michele Doran co-owns Doran’s Farm Market in New Albany. She grows a variety of crops, including strawberries.
“Well, the cooler temperatures kind of help a little bit right now, but, you know, it could change real quick if it keeps up and then gets hot, too. That would cause real problems,” Doran said.
Spectrum News agriculture expert Andy Vance said drought is a major concern for farmers during the late Spring and Summer seasons.
“Strawberries… they at different times will be blooming, flowering, setting fruit. And so it depends on the different crop, what time of year that dryness could have a bigger impact,” Vance said. “But really, we want to make sure that that plant is able to set fruit and be productive.”
One resource some farmers can utilize is within the Farm Bill.
Ty Higgins is the Sr. Director of Communications and Media Relations for the Ohio Farm Bureau.
“If it weren’t for the Farm Bill when we have years like what we might see here in 2023, that would put a lot of farmers out of business really quick, so the fact that we have (the) Farm Bill in place and a new one in the works, I think Springs and early Summers like this really emphasize the importance of those policies in D.C. that directly impact agriculture,” Higgins said.
One of the biggest provisions within the Farm Bill is crop insurance.
“So say on our farm, for example, by crop insurance to cover any potential losses due to weather and other calamities, certainly this would be one of those. And there are a lot of different tools like that in the risk management toolbox, but I think it’s really important for people to remember when they hear us discuss the Farm Bill or the federal Farm Safety Net or farm subsidies,” said Vance. “Why do we have those? It’s because a lot of the things that would, as Ty put it, put farmers out of business, have nothing to do with how good a farmer the farmer is. It has nothing to do with anything they can control, but things like Mother Nature.”
