News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
91.7FM Alpena and WCML-TV Channel 6 Alpena are off the air. Click here to learn more.

Rain perks up Michigan crops

Rasmus Landgreen
/
Unsplash

The rain improved Paul Gross’s mood, like the corn crop in Isabella County.

He’s the MSU extension crop educator there. He said most farms got an inch or more of rain in recent days.

“It’s just amazing how a little rain turns everything around. It turns the crop around," he said. "It turns the farmers and ag businesses’ attitudes around. Rain is always positive in July.”

Gross said the rain was a little too late for the wheat, which will be harvested soon.

"The wheat crop is probably gonna be the one that will be below—probably below average yields, I expect," he said. "We really hard a hard time getting it in last fall."

An inch a week is average for July, Gross said. And if that trend continues, most crops should be in good shape.

Ben Jodway is an intern, serving as a reporter for WCMU Public Media and the Pioneer in Big Rapids. He has covered Indigenous communities and political extremism in Michigan.