BLANCHESTER, Ohio — Heavy rain last week left standing water across yards and fields in the region, prompting farmers to inspect their crops for damage.
Roger Winemiller drove us around as he surveyed his 400 acres of corn in Clermont County to assess what the flooding left behind. He planted early this year, finishing most of the work by late April.
"I planted the first 40 acres the evening of the 23rd but for the most part I was planted by the 24th of April," Winemiller said.
Watch us check on the conditions in the fields with Winemiller:
While most of the standing water had receded by the time Winemiller began his inspection, the question remained: How much damage did the rain cause?
"Well, it all depends on what I see today. I've been wanting to get out here and do this for a while but this is the first day I've had the good weather to do it," Winemiller said.
The inspection turned up a mixed picture. Some spots in the field were visibly bare, but most rows were intact.
"Like this in here, looks thin, it's just a small area of the field and you can see it turns thicker not too far off," Winemiller said.
Winemiller noted that heavy rainfall, while dramatic, is not always the worst outcome for a field.
"For the most part, when you have a really heavy rainfall like that, I welcome it more than the long steady rains. When you get a big rain like that, it runs off," Winemiller said.
With most of the field looking healthy, Winemiller said replanting is unlikely for him, but that's not the case for all farmers.
Winemiller was not the only area farmer dealing with crop concerns. Matthew, a farmer in Adams County, shared photos of his soybean fields and said they lost half their crop. However, his losses were not caused by the rain — a late-season frost was to blame, and he is replanting.
With much of the growing season still ahead, Winemiller acknowledged conditions could still shift in either direction before harvest.
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