Ohio Drought

[Victor Van Meter]

Ohio has experienced a summer's long drought, especially SE Ohio where I am located. I have watched hundreds of dollars in trees and food plots burn up over the last few months. I am assuming the farmers in the area have lost tens of thousands. Many of the oaks have started to purge their acorns and other trees have already started to change color and drop leaves. If you walk through the woods, it seems more like October than August. Last weekend it was supposed to rain for 4 days and I don't believe it rained for 4 minutes. The September outlook is also calling for very little, if any rain, for the entire month. Not sure what this will bring for the upcoming bow season?

VV

 

[SwampCat]

I have always thought summer drought conditions bad enough to make oaks shed acorns early tend to bring better fall hunting. Deer are hungry and preferred food is scarce so they move more. If the drought is still bad in fall - hunting a water source can be a great spot. Taxidermist I use says she always get more deer to mount in a drought year

 

[gjs4]

Ohio has experienced a summer's long drought, especially SE Ohio where I am located. I have watched hundreds of dollars in trees and food plots burn up over the last few months. I am assuming the farmers in the area have lost tens of thousands. Many of the oaks have started to purge their acorns and other trees have already started to change color and drop leaves. If you walk through the woods, it seems more like October than August. Last weekend it was supposed to rain for 4 days and I don't believe it rained for 4 minutes. The September outlook is also calling for very little, if any rain, for the entire month. Not sure what this will bring for the upcoming bow season?

VV

Where are you Victor? Athens here. Extreme drought. Bought our place 2.5 yrs ago; EHD- Drought,-Drought. I lost thousands in trees and effort planted this spring. All of my plots are smoked. Creeks, ponds, water holes....all dry.

I went from a very food plot heavy approach due to the lack of ag, to now mowing whatever is standing in October and running feeders (reluctantly) for food. This year broke my spirit on an already challenged property

 

[Victor Van Meter]

Where are you Victor? Athens here. Extreme drought. Bought our place 2.5 yrs ago; EHD- Drought,-Drought. I lost thousands in trees and effort planted this spring. All of my plots are smoked. Creeks, ponds, water holes....all dry.

I went from a very food plot heavy approach due to the lack of ag, to now mowing whatever is standing in October and running feeders (reluctantly) for food. This year broke my spirit on an already challenged property

Meigs County. I regret that feeders are prob in my future too.

 

[Barker]

I sympathize with you all. We have only had 2 rains in all of August. Spring food plots were a fail and my fall plantings are really struggling, all no-till. Acorns are dropping heavy now in central Ohio and still no decent expectation of rain in the forecast. Hoping to at least be able to broadcast some rye. Luckily I'm covered up in swamp so at least my largest swamp is still holding some water.

 

[DJN]

Not much better in NE Ohio, but we did have an absolute gully washer 3 weeks or so ago. Had 4” in a few hours overnight at the house, and nearby town had 7.5” in under 4 hours. Heavy flash flooding to say the least, but back to drought since. It’s all or nothing. I’ve sprayed and tilled a few small fall plots but waiting for a better forecast before attempting to seed (and not high hopes for it to be successful based on the past few years with how dry September/early October have been).

 

[Snoop]

SW Indiana isn’t much better right now. I sprayed my 3 & 2 acres plots two weeks ago hoping to get things going a little earlier.
Hasn’t rained in 12 days & no rain is forecast for the next two weeks. I’ve got all my seed sitting here in my garage ready to go.
Need a rain dance.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

SW Indiana isn’t much better right now. I sprayed my 3 & 2 acres plots two weeks ago hoping to get things going a little earlier.
Hasn’t rained in 12 days & no rain is forecast for the next two weeks. I’ve got all my seed sitting here in my garage ready to go.
Need a rain dance.

Same. Sprayed 2 weeks ago hoping to plant this past weekend. That was a no go. Fingers crossed for this weekend

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Be sure to add a heavy dose of chicory to your fall plots in case you get another one next year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hunts_with_stick]

Bad here in east central Ohio and western pa where I live. Lots and lots of dust on the ground

 

[ansayre]

I am also down in meig's on the hook of the exceptional drought conditions. should I just store my brassica seed for next year at this point? it's late in the season and the outlook is still dry. I'll put down winter rye as soon as I see any rain forecasted.

 

[Victor Van Meter]

I am also down in meig's on the hook of the exceptional drought conditions. should I just store my brassica seed for next year at this point? it's late in the season and the outlook is still dry. I'll put down winter rye as soon as I see any rain forecasted.

IMO I wouldn’t put it out. I did during the last big rain and the topsoil is still so dry there was zero germination in 2 weeks. I will also throw some rye out if it rains, but there isn’t any in the forecast for the next 10 days and season starts in 15 days. As much as I don’t like to, I put corn out yesterday.

VV

 

[FarmerDan]

It’s baaaaaaad!

 

[Mattyq2402]

Same boat in eastern Athens Co, planted 12 blue hill pear trees this year, all are burnt. Went to have my farm hand spray plots few weeks back and it’s solid dirt. Two rains since I left Ohio on June 21, one was decent, other last week was extremely short lived. I have vitalize carbon load waiting, debating saving for next year and just throwing cereal rye at this point. Thoughts?

 

[hunts_with_stick]

IDK, no significant rain in the future. I am sure it will rain when the hunting gets good.

 

[DJN]

Planning to just throw oats and rye once we have decent rain in the forecast at this point. Wanted to get clover started this fall but now saving it for frost seeding.

 

[Victor Van Meter]

I have already wasted so much money on trees and seeds this spring and summer, I will probably just bag what seeds I have and keep them until next year.

 

[DrewMc]

Same boat here in SW PA. Food plots ruined. Very disappointing.

 

[bossgobbler]

We are in the heart of the EXCEPTIONAL drought category. It’s bad. I decided to experiment with it and just see what the results will be. I haven’t tilled in several years. I always keep clover growing as a base in every foodplot. We do about 5-6 acres. I broadcasted brassicas in late July. It’s virtually a bust on that. I drilled into 5 acres with buck forage oats, rye and wheat. My buck forage oats were about 3/1/1 ratio with wheat and rye. I always strive to have a good early green up, and then standing grains through the summer. This will be interesting to see the results. One way or another I’ll learn something good or bad.

 

[gjs4]

Would love to have a support group and planning committee put together for next year.....I fear this wont be the last (and that's after we get through the fall drought)