PLAIN CITY, Ohio — Weather this time of year is always unpredictable in Ohio.

When you have farmers who heavily rely on the weather to do their jobs, recent weather activity like flooding and freezing temperatures can make the future seem uncertain.

What You Need To Know

  • Recent flooding and freezing temperatures are making farmers' jobs more difficult 

  • According to Ohio farmer, Josh Yoder, if this weather persists he says they won't be able to plant seeds during planting season mid April

  • Ty Higgiins with the Ohio Farm Bureau said last year Ohio experienced a drought so rain is welcomed, but not too much rain

Josh Yoder has been farming for nine years and knows the job comes with unstable working conditions. 

“Flooding comes, you know, debris and soil erosion, all that kind of stuff,” said Yoder. 

It’s inclement weather that Ohio currently faces, that leave farmers like Yoder brace for the ambiguous future. 

“The real big challenge here is these cold and wet temperatures, um, cause a delay on what we could do in the field when we could get in the field,” said Yoder. 

Anxious to get his hands dirty, weather like today makes an already challenging job even more difficult. 

“With cold, wet temperatures, the first thing it does, it gets farmers pretty antsy because we’d like to be in the field, particularly as we approach the middle of April here. That’s usually the typical start of the growing season,” said Yoder. 

Yoder’s farm in Plain City has been in the family for five generations. He plants corns and soybeans, but if this weather persists, he’ll have to wait. 

“Cold temperatures and wet conditions are a real problem for any seed you put in the ground,” said Yoder. 

But while this week’s weather might pose practical problems. The rain could help.

Senior Director of Communications & Media Relations for the Ohio Farm Bureau Ty Higgins said around this time last year there was a different conversation. 

“2024 really did put farmers behind the eight ball as far as moisture. We got really dry really quick, and the yields showed it. We had a yield decrease in both corn and soybeans in 2024,” said Higgins.

He said the rain is needed, but not too much.

“So, this is going to be welcomed rain. And, you know, we hope it doesn’t last too long,” said Higgins. 

As far as Yoder is concerned, he said he and many of his fellow farmers all have the same question. 

“Is this how the rest of spring is going to look like, or is this kind of an anomaly and things are going to dry up and give us an opportunity to get in the field, you know, in the second half of April,” said Yoder. 

Of course, all the rain we’re getting now comes approximately six months after farmers suffered through a severe drought.

Higgins said the rain is helping bring “water table levels” back to a more normal level. He said if Ohio gets a dry spell in late spring or early summer, the combination could lead to a successful growing season.