While many US farmers have record year, Indiana suffers

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Record summer rains have damaged roughly a quarter of Indiana’s soybean and corn crops at a time when farms in other parts of the U.S. are projecting record yields.

State Agriculture Director Ted McKinney said at an Indiana State Fair forum that the state’s farmers have been hit with a “double-whammy.”

Not only will Indiana farms produce smaller crops, projected large harvests elsewhere are driving down corn and soybean prices. That’s expected to cost the state’s farmers millions of dollars in lost revenues.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday said farmers in 88 of Indiana’s 92 counties are eligible for low-interest emergency loans because of the heavy rains and flooding that have occurred since May 1.