How floodwater can impact the agricultural economy

WARREN COUNTY, Ky. – You may remember News 40 sitting down with a local farmer and learning how the recent severe weather is impacting the crops.

On Friday, experts in economics and soil shared how severe the floodwaters can be for crops.

Many Kentucky farmers saw around seven times the normal amount of rain. This can cause the soil to erode and plants to lose their nutrients.

Stephen King, associate professor of agriculture and economics, said, “I mean, anytime you have a an event like we have had, there is going to be some cost to it. So, for example, I mean, it rained an awful lot the U.S. Department of Agriculture, estimated 7.85in of rain fell, on average.”

Water is currently 770% above normal. This doesn’t just affect the crops but also the soil that grows the crops.

Soil specialist Stan Pace said, “We tend to look into crops because that’s what we sell.But we’ve got more stress on the plants. and because also of the higher volumes of water, we’re going to have higher weed levels. We won’t be able to get into the fields and work them like we need to.”

In the most recent survey by the USDA, farmers could only go to work two out of seven days on average during severe weather.

News 40 will continue to keep you up to date as we learn more.