PortageOnline News/Mike Blume
Ken Rutter, who farms near Carman and towards Miami, says this year’s growing season is shaping up to be fairly average, though rainfall has been uneven.
“We had our rain, probably half an inch, about two weeks ago now,” says Rutter. “We missed all the other ones since.”
He notes that one of his fields was hit hard earlier in the season.
“In May, one field had about three to five inches of rain,” says Rutter. “Even when I sowed it the first week of June, it was still too wet.”
The field in question is planted with soybeans on thinner sand, and while it's coming along, Rutter says it’s been slower than expected. His other crops this year include wheat and black beans, which are doing reasonably well.
Rainfall uneven but not disastrous
Rutter says farmers south of his area saw heavier rainfall on Canada Day, but his own land stayed dry during the storm.
“There were some storms that went through Elm Creek and toward the south,” notes Rutter. “They got a real good shot of rain, but that missed us right where I was.”
He says the scattered nature of this year’s rainstorms has left some areas better off than others.
“It’s kind of like that everywhere,” adds Rutter. “Just been storm showers—who gets hit, gets hit.”
Season tracking close to last year
Overall, Rutter says 2025 is shaping up about the same as last year in terms of crop progress.
“Works out about the same,” he says. “So far, yeah.”
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