Drought forces Morgan County farmers to change strategy - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Morgan County is part of 20 percent of Indiana that falls in the "exceptional drought" category on the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map.

Farmer Sue Purpura has given up on her corn planted earlier this year which has not seen rain since April. Purpura sells syrup at the Morgan County Farmer's Market, but the drought has impacted the crowds they would normally see every Wednesday and Saturday.

She has beans planted and a small garden behind her garage, and her family is keeping their fingers crossed about the pending the promise of some rain this week. She realizes they live in Indiana's hardest-hit drought area but has never seen it this bad.

"I am only watering where the plants...where the roots are," Purpura said.

Despite the dwindling crowds and shoppers at the farmer's market, Purpura says she did okay this past week but feels for her friends and fellow vendors who depend heavily on making a living on selling their crops.

"I drove by a field of soybeans yesterday. The whole field was wilted," she said.

The restrictions for watering where she lives is every other day. Even-numbered addresses can water only on even-numbered calendar dates. Odd-numbered addresses are allowed to water on odd-numbered calendar dates. Still, to help conserve water for her struggling follow vendors, Purpura and her family have refrained from watering their lawns altogether.

Her cabbage, tomato plants and cantaloupe are surviving thanks to rain water captured in storage barrels. But as far as the corn surviving the drought, there is little hope.

"I gave up on (the corn) about a month-and-a-half, two months ago. It all dried up," Purpura said.

Eyewitness News found corn crops in bad shape all throughout Morgan County. As far as saving what crops she does have, Purpura says, "It's not looking good."

She's planning on having better luck next year.