MACON COUNTY, Ill. (WAND) – Farmers across the nation have been battling Mother Nature for weeks. This includes Macon County farmer Mike Stacey.
"It’s a hard year to get things done when it rains every few days," Stacey said. "We're not quite done with corn. We haven't planted any beans as you can see the field behind you. There's nothing out there."
Stacey's family has farmed land in Macon County since 1964. The only year that's come close in conditions is 1974.
“1974 was about like this," he said. "We got the corn in some of it fairly early. We were still planting beans like June 21 or something, then we had an early frost like Labor Day. So, we hope we're not back to a 1974 scenario."
As Illinois moves toward June, 2019's planting season is already a standout.
"This year is epic," said farmer David Brown. "This is a historic year for growers in central Illinois, seeing things they've never seen before, and that is they're having situations of not getting their crop planted."
Stacey says he still needs to plant 700 acres of his land. On a national scale, Midwest farmers still have roughly 39 million acres to take care of. While growers would obviously prefer their crop be fruitful, Stacey says nowadays there is at least a safety net.
"In '74 we didn't have crop insurance and most farmers carry crop insurance so that will help if we get into a scenario like that," he added.
Though in an industry with many unknowns, Stacey says he's looking toward the future with confidence.
"Farmers are always optimistic," he said. "We've always planted a crop here on this farm and we intend to plant a crop this year."
With it being so late in the year, many farmers have considered planting soybeans instead of corn. That's because soybeans don't take as long to grow. Stacey, who also serves as the president of the Macon County Farm Bureau says that move could be a gamble.
"You know, China was our biggest market for soybeans, we lost that, and it's a great concern to all of us," he said. "The Macon County Farm Bureau and the Illinois Farm Bureau are working to solve that, but it seems we're at a stalemate right now."
Stacey says farmers are not out of the woods yet. While an abundance of rain early this year has delayed planting, no rain later in the season can be just as harmful to this fall's harvest.
