Over the past few weeks, Champaign famers and their crops have taken quite a beating due to intense precipitation and winds from Hurricane Gustav, a category two storm which made landfall on Sept. 2 in Louisiana. Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, TX just a week later on the 9th.

According to Drew Lerner, Senior Agricultural Meteorologist, the rain from both hurricanes left crops such as soybeans, wheat and corn under flood water. This could be harmful to the crops because increased amounts of standing water can kill some plants, he said.

Thus, the death of these crops could result in a shortage of food for Illinois and the Midwestern United States.

“With this much rainwater from hurricane Ike, crops will be vulnerable to losses, damage, or death,” said Lerner. “If there were to be a shortage in corn, farmers couldn’t feed their livestock and industries that depend on corn to make their products would have to pay more, therefore consumers would have to pay more.”

Lerner also said that when Ike moved across the Midwest, the intense winds caused many plants such as corn to snap off from their stalks. This made harvesting crops even more difficult for farmers. If these winds and precipitation continue, harvesting could be delayed, he said.

Meteorology Professor Eric Snodgrass said he believes the rain from Ike and Gustav is having negative effects on tomatoes and other crops.

“Right now people are harvesting tomatoes and when there is a lot of rain, the tomatoes burst, so we’ve got a lot of farmers with bursting and swollen tomatoes all over the place,” Snodgrass said.

Lerner, like Snodgrass, said he feels that although the rain from these past two hurricanes has had some negative effects on the crops, there have also been some positives to the precipitation.

Crop Scientist Michelle Wander said the rain the area received from Gustav had a good effect on crops and agriculture because the land was dry and some of the plants, such as soybeans, were starting to wilt.

Last spring, cool temperatures and dry land caused crops to die out, and this years rains came at an optimal time, she said.

The recent rain in Champaign proved beneficial for the crops but was costly for farmers.

As of now, the water damage done to soybean plants, corn, and wheat will most likely not be permanent, Lerner said.

The forecast for the upcoming days calls for sun though, and Lerner said he believes that this sunshine will restore the majority of the water damage done to the farmers and their crops.