Drought forces harsh decisions for Indiana farmers - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Indiana's once promising $8 billion corn and soybean crop is dying for water. A just-released federal crop report is worse than last week's. Farmers and consumers are going to pay the bill.

According to the USDA, more than two thirds of the corn crop is in poor or very poor condition. More than half the soybean crop is in the same shape. Unless there is a remarkable turnaround, consumers will pay more to feed their families. Dairies, cattle, hog, chicken farms will all pay more to raise livestock.

A dairy cow devours about a hundred pounds of feed and a bath tub full of water every day.

It's no wonder dairy farmer Merrill Kelsay is more than a little worried. He isn't certain how he will feed his nearly 500 cows.

"Not really, no, I couldn't pinpoint what we are going to do. No," he said.

The Kelsay family has been farming in Johnson County since the 1830s. Merrill has been a dairyman since he was a boy.

"It's as bad as I've ever seen it as far as the dryness we've had," Kelsay said.

Feed to carry the herd through winter, spring and summer is shriveling in the fields. Ears of corn are puny at best. The family figures at least a quarter of the crop is already lost.

The hay crop is even worse. In a freshly cut field during a normal summer, the rows of hay would be six to eight inches deep. There's only an inch on the ground waiting to be baled.

The farm will have to buy and pay premium prices for feed it normally grows itself. Will the family farm survive?

"We survived this far," Kelsay quickly replied. "I hope we can. We may have to do some adjustments."

Some farmers are cutting their losses and cutting down acres of dying corn while it's still useful for feed.

Most are gambling on rain creating much-needed grain. It is a toss-up, says Kelsay.

"You have to make some real tough decisions on what you need to be doing, and you don't know what's to come," he said.

In a summer when crops are overdosing on sunshine, farmers are making crucial decisions in the dark.

Farmers are saying this drought is as bad as the in 1988. That year they lost 30 percent of the crop.

With grain prices already heading up, the government estimates food prices could increase more than three percent next year.

Purdue estimates the majority of Indiana farm land is covered crop insurance. However, just like home owner's insurance, it doesn't cover all the losses. Farmers say they may lose their shirt this year but can keep the farm.