EATON RAPIDS, Mich — Recent rainfall in Eaton Rapids isn't enough to overcome the dry conditions that have been affecting local farmers, according to one area producer.
- Farmers in Mid-Michigan are dealing with smaller crop yields due to dry conditions.
- A meteorologist confirms several Mid-Michigan areas are below average rainfall.
- The Michigan Farm Bureau says consumers shouldn't see price increases at grocery stores.
As I pulled up to a field in Eaton Rapids on Tuesday, it was raining, but local farmer Zach Wagner says the precipitation was insufficient.
WATCH: Mid-Michigan farmers facing challenges from dry conditions
"One day of rain right now, we could get two inches of rain and we'd be back out here tomorrow. It's pretty dry out here," Wagner said.
Wagner has been farming throughout Mid-Michigan for more than 10 years and says the recent dry weather has impacted his crops.
"The soybean crop in particular, it really benefits from those August rains, so the later plant of beans, especially our stuff up around St. Johns, it just looks like beebees, the seed size is really tiny," Wagner said.
FOX 47 Meteorologist Jake DeReese confirms several areas in Mid-Michigan are seeing this impact.
"Areas like Eaton Rapids are two inches below their average for the past two months, and we even have areas like Lansing, portions of Clinton County, and Hillsdale County under a state of moderate droughts," DeReese said.
I wanted to know if this could affect your trip to the grocery store, so I talked with Theresa Sisung at the Michigan Farm Bureau, who told me shoppers shouldn't see an impact.
"A lot of it's going to be a direct impact to farmers, not as much to consumers–they get the end product of a lot of these things," Sisung said.
She says the drier weather hasn't been severe enough to lead to a spike in prices at the store.
Wagner tells me farmers persevere through the conditions, and recent years have lessened this year's negative impact.
"Thankfully, we've had a couple good years with higher prices and high yields, and this is just one of the tougher years," Wagner said.
Wagner also added that as more farmers begin their harvests, there will be an increase in farm equipment on the roads. He urges drivers to be patient, for their own safety and for the safety of those operating the equipment.
"We know that we're a pain and we can only do 25MPH, and we're just trying to do our job, and if you can be patient with us, it'd be greatly appreciated," Wagner said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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