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The agency said technical and financial assistance is available
to help farmers recover.
“Crop insurance and other USDA risk management options are
offered to help producers manage risk, because we never know
what nature has in store for the future,” said Mitchell Zipprich,
Director of USDA’s Risk Management Agency Regional Office that
covers Illinois.
On Thursday, state officials announced disaster tax relief in 11
counties covered by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s recent disaster
proclamation.
Taxpayers in the impacted counties may request a waiver of
penalties and interest if severe weather prevents them from
filing tax returns or making payments on time.
Dave Stark is president of agriculture at Holganix, a
regenerative agriculture company.
Stark said many farmers don't want government money.
“They would rather do it on their own. But farming is, as you
just said, you never know. Is there a normal year anymore?
What's normal? And that's been true my whole 43-year career in
agriculture. That's always been a wild card, the weather,” Stark
told The Center Square.
Dan Meyer planted his 40th crop this year near Tuscola in
Douglas County.
“We've had to change. We had places in our fields for both corn
and soybeans that flooded out, where the water just stood for so
long that, eventually, the crops drowned out,” Meyer told The
Center Square.
Meyer said his son planted about 100 acres of soybeans in April
but didn’t get back into the field for almost a month because of
rain.
Then, after crops were planted in May, parts of Illinois had
record rainfall in June.
“On Friday, July 3rd, I went back out and planted five
flooded-out areas once more with an old tractor and small
planter of soybeans. It's really too late to try and plant any
corn now,” Meyer said.
Meyer said he could still have a decent crop if the weather is
agreeable in July and August.
“But if we would hit a drought period or something like that, it
could be pretty tough on the overall yields,” Meyer said.
Stark said Illinois is blessed with some of the best corn ground
on Earth, but corn is more susceptible than soybeans to weather
and erosion.
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