BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Lack of rain has caused lawns to brown, leaves to fall and -- unfortunately for Tim Hesselbrock, an Okeana farmer -- crops to shrink.
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This time of year, soybeans should be waist-high, says Butler County farmer Tim Hesselbrock.
(Glenn Hartong photo)
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"This is two years in a row that dry weather has hurt us," Mr. Hesselbrock said.
While a chance of rain is forecast for the region today, it is too late to improve the harvest, he said. In better times, an acre of a cornfield might yield 125 to 140 bushels; this year an acre is yielding about 35 to 40 bushels.
While record rainfalls soaked Greater Cincinnati this spring, the past two months have seen below-normal precipitation.
Just 0.01 inches of rain had fallen in September as of Tuesday evening.
The dry spell has created trying conditions for crops and other plants, said Joe Boggs, commercial horticulture agent for the Ohio State University Extension, Hamilton County. Trees are stressed and dropping leaves, and the dry, hard ground may hamper root growth. During the spring, many farmers, including the Hesselbrocks, planted a few crops late because fields were too wet. Even with the dry spell, the region is about 10 inches above normal for year-to-date rainfall.
All that water was good for the spring but did little for the summer and fall, Mr. Boggs said.
And though it has generally been dry throughout Greater Cincinnati, some areas have had more rain.
It is not only the plants that are suffering, though.
Homeowners should inspect the ground around their houses. Dry soil cracks and shrinks, and could pull away from basement walls and cause cracks, said Stefan Olson, urban land manager for the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District.
While watering the garden, he suggests, spray some on the ground surrounding the house.
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