ADAMS COUNTY, ILL. -- The Tri-State area has been in a drought for months now. Local farmers had record low numbers in their yields. Terry Smith is the president of the Adams County Farm Bureau. He said some of his yields dipped down into the single digits.
"I had yields in single digits in fields that should have been approaching 200 bushels an acre. It was single digit yields. The losses were really high. It was a combination of the extreme heat and no moisture," Smith said.
Mark Fuchs with the National Weather Service in St. Louis says in order for the area to get out of this drought, they will need to see some consistent rainfall.
"A big event certainly helps. If you have a big rainfall event, but if that's the only thing you're getting and it goes back to status quo and back to dry weather for a long time, it can't really do that much long term good. What you really need is a pattern shift," Fuchs said.
In case the weather pattern stays the same, Smith plans to plant the seeds as early as possible. He said he had to plant early last year to prepare for the current drought.
The National Weather Service came out with its 90 day forecast for the area. Fuchs said the forecast shows a possibility for slightly above average precipitation in the near future. This could possibly pull the area out of its dry spell. Fuchs said the 90 day forecast predicts equal chances of above average or below average temps throughout the next three months in the Tri-State area.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA